The National Fraternal Order of Police has sent a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodall requesting that off-duty cops be permitted to carry firearms at NFL games. The reason? ISIL, of course:
The terrorist attacks and threats of attacks from organizations like the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are selecting targets based on the amount of death and injury they can inflict - mass murder and casualty events. Well-attended venues and areas are being deliberately targeted by the radical killers who do not intend or expect to survive the assault. Law enforcement, even when working actively with highly trained and skilled security professionals, cannot be certain that all threats will be detected and neutralized.
Aside from being exploitative of the Paris attacks, this letter demonstrates that the FOP is more concerned with prompting extreme GOP/NRA policy positions than public or even officer safety. Apparently the NFL finally drafted a firearms policy in 2013 which did not contain an exclusion for off-duty cops. This pissed-off the FOP who saw the Paris attacks as an opportunity for another bite at the apple.
Full story, to which I am greatly indebted for this diary, is available over at Deadspin.com.