|
|
 |
|
Some thoughts about the death of a Chicago cop
of TheColumnists.com
Chicago police Officer Thomas Wortham IV had recently returned from his second tour of duty in Iraq with his reserve unit. He bought himself a new motorcycle and was visiting his parents’ home for dinner.
At about 11:30 PM he was about to head home. Just then four "gang-bangers" with guns tried to rob the young off duty cop. The instinct to survive caused Wortham and his retired policeman father to fight for their lives during this armed ambush.
In the process, one of the criminals--Brian Floyd, 20--was killed and another thug was wounded. Unfortunately, Patrolman Thomas Wortham IV was shot dead during the commission of this crime.
In the Ghetto, life is cheap. The cop killer, Floyd, died during the robbery. Lucille Floyd, the gunman's mother, is now speaking out. She thinks it was somehow unfair for her son to have been killed during the crime he was committing, that the armed victims were too accurate with their guns and killed her son.
She believes the two victims should have just wounded her son rather than kill him. If you don't believe me, you can type in her name on youtube and see her speak about this herself. She was not sorry her son killed a police officer, nor did she offer any apology to the officers’ parents, whose son was murdered.
She’s a moron to say the least. It’s alarming that people like Lucille are having children. It’s even scarier that we allow dangerous creatures like her son to roam our streets. The most telling portion of this woman’s remarks on youtube was that her son and his fellow criminals grew up fatherless.
But Officer Tom Wortham’s father was at his side, still trying to protect him in every way he could. I can’t help but wonder if that’s why Worthham, (also an African-American) became a contributing member of society?
Young officer Wortham had recently met with a reporter and others who were planning to take back their community from the criminals. It seems that newly-arrived “residents” to their neighborhood had been relocated from the inner-city public housing sector in Chicago.
The officer's neighborhood was full of good people like his own family. He grew up there. His father was a retired Chicago Police sergeant and his mother a schoolteacher. A proposed rally by local pols and citizens was upcoming but young Officer Wortham never made it there.
 |
left, and Toyious Taylor were arrested in conjunction with the robbery- shooting. |
Wortham had survived two tours of duty in Iraq. His father was at the door to watch as his son prepared to leave on his new motorcycle. He saw the four thugs coming up to his son, demanding he turn over his motorcycle to them. When he refused, gunfire broke out.
Wortham's father ran to get his own gun to help his son and, when he returned he saw his son lying in the street wounded. The father opened fire on the thugs as he ran to his son's side. When the shooting stopped, one of the thugs (Brian Floyd) was dead, another in critical condition, and two others got away. They turned themselves in to police shortly after.
After the officer's father positively identified both men, Paris McGee, 20, and Toyious Taylor, 29, were arrested. They're now being held without bond.
A senseless murder of a good man by the scum of the earth is offensive to me on every level. My heart goes out to the slain officer’s family. I’m also a retired Chicago Police Sergeant and I knew of Sgt. Wortham in the Englewood District station and what a good man he is.
I never met his son, Tom, but I’m sure he was a chip off the good old block of his Dad and Mother. Someone once said that in an ideal community, when one person is injured we all feel the pain. I feel the pain of the Wortham family and I think we all do – at least those of us who have any feelings.
The ghetto rats who killed this fine officer have no feelings for other people. They wrecked their own lives and then set out to hurt and kill those who have worked hard to become caring, good people. Prison is too good for these bums. All of the good citizens will be forced to work and pay for their meals, health care, and other expenses to keep them incarcerated. From time to time we get lucky and the rats will be given a death sentence by a judge with balls and we will be rid of them after costly due process of appeals have run their course.
All this says a lot about Chicago’s gun control. Mayor Daley has taken guns away from all law-abiding citizens on his watch but the criminals still can get guns. Chicago residents and Chicago are asking, “What are you going to do about this, Mayor Daley”?
When I was a young officer, I arrested an older man on the front porch of his apartment building because he had a gun in his possession. The old guy told me, "Officer, I’d rather you catch me with the gun than for those gang-bangers to catch me without it!”
He pointed to gang members loitering nearby. I ran a check on the old man. He was clean and appeared to be a hard-working man. Because I agreed that the old man needed to protect himself from these violent bums, I let him go without being charged. Yes, I even gave him back his gun.
For sure life is cheap in the ghetto, but Patolman Wortham was indeed trying to change that by helping others. His family will receive a one time gift of $50,000 from a special account, but I have a son and there is no way any sum of money would heal my heart if I was in Sgt. Wortham’s shoes and had seen my son shot down.
Having seen all too often great guys like Officer Tom Wortham murdered in the ghetto before, I think we should keep our second amendment rights to bear arms so as to protect ourselves from those animals who would kill our kids and us with their guns.
I await the comments from those folks who have not lost a kid to this type of violence, or who are so well meaning but naive to think any City can take all the guns away from all its people–good or bad. My advice is for them all to wake up and protect the good people and to hell with the whack jobs that are on our streets trying to kill us.
©2010 by Andy Murcia. The Murcia caricature is ©2003 by Jim Hummel. This column first posted May 31, 2010.
TO ACCESS ANDY MURCIA'S ARCHIVE OF COLUMNS
ON THIS SITE, CLICK HERE: MURCIA
ARCHIVE
You can comment
on this column online via our TALKBACK page. Please address your message to either "The
Editors" or Andy Murcia, care of Syndpack@aol.com
|
|
|
Archives |
|
|