The Badger Herald: Opinion: Media miss big picture in Crandon

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Media miss big picture in Crandon

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By Letters to the Editor
Thursday, October 18, 2007 12:00 a.m.

7 Vote 0 Votes

The shooting that recently unfolded in Crandon was obviously very tragic, and the media attention it garnered was warranted. However, the fact that the shooter was a police officer is being blown completely out of proportion. Yes, his job provided him immediate access to a firearm, but that does not mean his job drove him to kill six people. Regardless of his reasons for rampage, he probably would not have needed his police weapon to execute his assault. Those of us who are from Wisconsin, specifically the more rural areas of the state, all know the extent to which the hunting culture pervades our great state. Especially in Crandon, a blue collar town way up in the North Woods, it would seem very probable that the shooter would have either owned a gun or had very easy access to another firearm. It is not terribly unusual to walk into a Wisconsin home to find an array of weapons displayed in a gun cabinet in the living room. While the recent bill to require new policemen to take psychiatric tests is commendable, it misses the point. The tests would not account for any mental changes that may occur five or 10 years down the road, after the real effects of the job begin to set in. Moreover, expelling a new officer because of psychiatric problems will not prevent him or her from acquiring an equally deadly firearm from the local sporting goods store. Imagine the reaction from the left if the shooter was not an officer; cries for psychiatric tests for all gun purchasers would be the anthem of the day. What it all comes down to is that an overzealous boyfriend enraged by his ex-girlfriend went berserk. His status as a police officer becomes immediately negligible when one considers he was off-duty at the time of the shooting. C.J. Smith UW junior, political science cjsmith5@wisc.edu

7 Comments | Leave a comment

Anonymous | October 18, 2007 11:01 AM | Reply
IP hash: deee639f

I’ve read this piece three times now and am still wondering what the media missed. Is there a point to this piece other than to point out that Peterson likely had access to numerous weapons?

Anonymous | October 18, 2007 4:00 PM | Reply
IP hash: 56e81b1e

I also don’t see what the media missed. The guy used a fully automatic rifle. He only had access to that by virtue of being on the SWAT unit. The kids didn’t have a chance at getting away. Although it’s true that anyone can kill if they want to— More might have survived if Peterson was using a hunting rifle.

Anonymous | October 18, 2007 5:36 PM | Reply
IP hash: b85e0377

So…you’re arguing for better gun control over all then?

Anonymous | October 18, 2007 7:18 PM | Reply
IP hash: f16762c3

The original title of the article was “Police Psychiatry not the Issue.” The editor changed it. The main point was that the psychiatric testing would not be very effective.

Anonymous | October 18, 2007 8:13 PM | Reply
IP hash: c13cbab7

Hear, hear!

tom gudex | October 18, 2007 9:57 PM | Reply
IP hash: 7ce1e146

I am shocked that there was not a more in depth background check on him.

But,

Lets stick to the facts, the AR-15 is not fully automatic it is semi automatic, spreading lies on this forum will not solve any problems. A semiautomatic rifle is different than a gun that shoots automatically without a second pull of the trigger.

Also a hunting rifle fires a much larger bullet than the gun that this man used at a higher velocity. If he had had a hunting rifle the wounded man might have died too. If he had a 12 gage shotgun with slugs which are at least 4 times the size of his bullets he may have killed more people.