Free Fire Zone

First, let me say I acknowledge that law enforcement officials have an unenviable job. They deal with the worst examples of humanity on a daily basis - criminals and politicians. So while I sympathize with their plight, at times they are their own worst enemy. Case in point:

During the manhunt last month for California cop killer Christopher Dorner the Los Angeles police mistakenly shot up a pickup driven by two Hispanic women delivering newspapers. Fortunately for the women, the LA cops are lousy shots.

Regardless, the women's truck was totaled, being riddled by somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 rounds (100 rounds?!? And the women basically walked away with only slight wounds? Way to shoot, Barney Fife.) Anyway...

In a magnanimous gesture that I'm sure has absolutely nothing to do with trying to repair a shattered public image, the LAPD promised the women a new truck to replace the bullet-riddled old one.

There was, however, one slight catch...

Women Accidentally Shot by LAPD Won’t Get New Truck, Despite Promises

After their truck was plugged with more than 100 bullets, two women accidentally shot by the LAPD in the manhunt for Christopher Dorner are not getting the replacement vehicle they were promised over a month ago.

NBC 4 in LA reports that 71-year-old Emma Hernandez and her daughter, who had been delivering newspapers when eight police officers opened fire on them out of the blue, no longer want the new truck after being told they'd need to pose for a photo op and pay income tax on it.

Yep, the LAPD tries to gun down two these two women (when they were searching for one man...). However, the only thing that gets killed is the truck. Seems like the fair and reasonable thing to do would be to replace the truck at no expense to the ladies, right?

Ah well, that's not how government works.

An LAPD spokesperson, Commander Andrew Smith, told NBC 4 that it is "sad" but the department "just can't get past the 1099 issue," referencing the tax form one must fill out to claim income separate from wages. "The government has to take their bite out of it, I guess," Smith added.

Perhaps Smith is forgetting that the government wouldn't have had to take any bites if his organization, itself a government agency, hadn't shot at two innocent people 102 times.

So now the two women are out a truck. I don't know who paid the hospital bills - hopefully it was the city of LA. But because one government agency can't figure out a way around the rules of another government agency, two people are out of work and this whole mess is destined to become one gigantic lawsuit. Even if the city prevails the legal expenses will be much higher than the cost of a truck.

Not to mention that whole silly outmoded concept of doing the right thing...

UPDATE

The city has agreed to give $40,000 to two women whose pickup was shot up by a Police Department protection detail that mistook their newspaper delivery vehicle for the truck driven by rogue ex-cop Christopher Dorner during his rampage, officials announced Thursday.

The tax-free settlement covering the pickup and other property came quickly after the women's attorney, Glen Jonas, rejected Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck's offer of a replacement truck because the women would have had to pay taxes.

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich said the truck compensation was one of the fastest resolutions of a case he can remember in his term.

My, that was quick...

Side note: this should put to rest the notion that high capacity magazines result in higher body counts. 100+ rounds,fired by trained 'professionals.' and no fatalities...