Talk About Injustice

I happened to come across this column describing the worst sort of injustice, and it just about kills me. A cop in Chicago named Mike Mette went with some buddies to a party (off-duty). The party was a dud, so they left without taking a single drink. Apparently, the host of the party (who was drunk) was offended, and chased them down. The cop tried to back out of the confrontation, but the host started hitting him. So, the cop took him out with one punch. Not a beating, not a group attack, not excessive use of force. A single punch.

And now he's going to jail for five years.

The columnist decries the injustice of this man, who is by all accounts a good cop with a good record. The columnist rightly says:

I figure that if anyone puts their hands on you, you have a right to put your hands on them. At worst, he should have been charged with a lesser crime and jailed for 15 or 30 days. But five years in state prison for one punch in self-defense?

He contacted the Governor's office, but they were far too busy with presidential nominees to deal with the plight of a lowly police officer facing jail time.

If anyone reading this lives in Iowa, call your State and Federal Representatives and Senators, and ask them to look into this. It simply isn't right. Mette's father, Bob, sums it up:

"Well, he got framed, and nobody cares," Bob said about his son. "It's just not fair. Since when can you get hit three times and get locked up for five years when you respond with one punch? If you can't protect yourself from being attacked, then we are not in America anymore."

Call in and see if you can get some help for this guy. No one deserves this treatment, especially not a cop.

There's my two cents.