The Baylor for Mayor meme, October 31: R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

From October 29, 2015 (at The New Albanist):

Mr. Gahan’s “Blue” Problem

FOP: Gahan has apparently made it his goal to make every police officer feel disrespected.

Meanwhile, #sadlackey

Jeff Gahan took office on January 1, 2012. Since that date, can you guess how many times he has met en masse with New Albany's police department?

Zero ... as in not once. Incredible, isn't it?

Readers, click through to The New Albanist to read the complete letter from the Fraternal Order of Police. Take it away, Mr. Smith.

Mr. Gahan’s “Blue” Problem

 ... In order to give broader coverage to their plaint, I’m republishing the text of a newspaper advertisement placed this week by the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 99. And yes, I’m doing so because I believe the safety and well-being of this city depend on Jeff Gahan being retired from public office. Indeed, I am continually amused that so many feign outrage that a blog, a Facebook post, or a Tweet might contain an actual wish that the writer’s preferred candidate be elected and that the incumbent be retired. City employees and appointees and the mayor’s family members seem to think that electoral politics requires silence about the issues and deference to their chosen one.

Mutchler's letter ... or, the thoroughly depressing week that was, Part 2.

In these numbingly stupid times, it's no longer possible to differentiate between fact and The Onion. In fact, The Onion is probably more factual than many alleged news sources.

But there was nothing Onion-like about Thursday's "open letter" from Dave Mutchler, president of the Fraternal Order of Police in Louisville.

I write not as a candidate, just as an ordinary citizen engaged for many years in the pursuit of small business -- and moreover, as someone who tries to live by the rules of the game and tries his best to know why we have these rules, and what they mean.

I know plenty of policemen, and do my best to support the cop on the street. Always have, always will, and yet Mutchler's words were absolutely blood-curdling for anyone who has paid the slightest bit of attention to the outside world.

"Sensationalist, liars and race-baiters" sounds plainly like rhetoric pulled directly from the worst chapters of 20th-century history books -- you know, the ones we typically refuse to read -- as uttered by people in Mutchler's position in places like Franco's Spain, the Uganda of Idi Amin, or in East Germany.

And let me tell you that having traveled in Communist countries, policemen were feared, precisely because the definition of who constituted a "lawless element" was subject to change on whim.

At Insider Louisville, Joe Dunman offers his usual precision take.

Opinion: In a free society we are entitled, right or wrong, to criticize the actions of public servants — including police.

 ... Mutchler’s letter is so dangerous because police officers wield tremendous power and privilege. Our life and liberty as citizens are often literally in their hands. When someone claiming to represent police officers puts citizens “on notice” for their “attitude,” promising to meet them “with force” should they dare not comply with orders, it invokes the most terrifying aspects of a fascist police state.

Police are public servants. They answer to all of us as citizens, even those who don’t reflexively defend their every action. They don’t get to decide who in the community they will protect and who they will target for retribution. That’s not how a democratic, constitutional society works.

I assume by criticizing Mutchler’s ill-conceived threats to the public I will be added to his list of “sensationalists, liars, and race-baiters.”

So be it. In a free society we are entitled, right or wrong, to criticize the actions of our public servants without fear of retribution by agents of the government. Those public servants swear an oath to the Constitution, which still includes, much to Mr. Mutchler’s apparent disdain, the First Amendment.

Of course, Mutchler's subsequent denial of a threatening tone to the words he chose to use testifies more than anything else to several generations of Americans passing through the portals of our education system without instruction as to the meaning of words and how to write them coherently.

The letter was so disturbing that even the milquetoast Courier Journal was moved to rare editorial eloquence.

Editorial | Don’t let Mutchler inflame tensions (The Courier-Journal)

 ... Then, we had to spend a day trying to make sense of the uncivil and unproductive letter from Fraternal Order of Police president Dave Mutchler.

Knowing that our own words are often misinterpreted or misunderstood, we read and re-read his comments. We tried walking a mile in the shoes of an obviously frustrated FOP president. But those shoes kept getting mired in one of the key byproducts of the backside at Churchill Downs.

There are times when we're looking for answers, and while the right answer may be elusive, we can at least eliminate the wrong ones. Mutchler's letter was just such a wrong answer, and that's the best I can do at the moment.

Following are two other explanatory links.

Local FOP president sends threatening open letter to ‘sensationalists, liars and race-baiters’ (UPDATED), by Joe Sonka (Insider Louisville)

Mayor and police chief issue condemnation of FOP president, by Joe Sonka (IL)

Comparing police staffing levels.

Due to the Fraternal Order of Police's current request for $1 million in EDIT revenue to temporarily fund an additional 10 officers and 2 crime scene investigators, there have been a lot of figures thrown around concerning proper police officer staffing levels.

Here's a look at some comparative numbers, taken from the FBI's 2007 Crime in the United States:

Officer staffing levels are most often shown as a ratio, the number of officers per 1,000 inhabitants.

New Albany: 1.8 officers per 1,000.

National (for cities with populations between 25,000 and 49,999): 1.8 officers per 1,000.

There are 806 cities reported in this category nationally. The largest group, 283 cities (35.1%), have staffing ranges between 1.5 and 2.0 officers per 1,000 inhabitants. The second largest group, 231 cities (28.7%), have staffing ranges between 1.1 and 1.5 officers per 1,000.

Midwest (for cities with populations between 25,000 and 49,999): 1.7 officers per 1,000.

Nine Indiana cities with populations between 30,000 and 40,000 were reported. They show a broad range of 49 to 114 officers employed. New Albany was reported as having 66 officers for 36,840 inhabitants. The two closest cities in population reported, Portage (36,701) and Richmond (37,129), show 58 and 77 officers employed, respectively.

Jeffersonville: 1.9 officers per 1,000.

Clarksville: 1.6 officers per 1,000.

Have at it.

Patron Forum at Destinations Booksellers: A Night with the FOP.

(Submitted by Randy Smith, Destinations Booksellers)

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Patron Forum at Destinations Booksellers: A Night with the FOP

Thursday, January 10th, 7:00 p.m. (Thursday)

At Destinations Booksellers we are committed to offering opportunities for our patrons to connect with their community. It has been a while since we have hosted a forum, so we are pleased to invite you to join us on Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. for a very special patron event. A panel from the local FOP lodge will be on hand to discuss law enforcement, crime, and justice. Bring your questions and ideas.

The question of the evening for our law enforcement officers will be:

"How would New Albany change if we could give you everything you say you need?"

The Christmas decorations are still up. We are in the middle of inventory.
The store is in complete chaos, but we think that this is so important that we are asking you to ignore the mess. Come on down to meet our "men and women in blue" and talk about the future of New Albany.