The stark differences between public sentiment toward law enforcement here in the Poconos versus Ferguson, Missouri are amazing. We are all Pennsylvania State Troopers these days. Anyone who has lived here for any significant period of time understands what the law enforcement guys/gals are up against out there in the woods looking for an alleged murderer named Eric Frein. Terrible terrain, terrible time of year, terrible weather coming to be sitting ducks. And that is basically what they are.
People are upset because the opening of hunting season has been delayed - perhaps even cancelled - in the handful of townships that are the primary focus of the search. But nobody is interested in trading places with the men and women and dogs out there waiting to be the next victim of a trained sniper who has already killed one Trooper and horribly injured another. Just another Coward - only with survival training, bombs and weapons.
We call ourselves the Pocono Mountains, but there really aren't any mountains here. The name comes from an Indian word that means creek between two hills. We have some lumps in the topography barely large enough for skiing, some escarpments, some deep valleys cut by the most precious special protection waters imaginable. High Quality Cold Water Fisheries and Exceptional Value creeks are everywhere, giving us some of the best trout fisheries in the country. Sky scraping stands of hemlock create deep, unbelievably dark woodland areas where day is like night. Oaks that survived a recent gypsy moth invasion are being invaded by squirrels harvesting nuts that fall to the ground like hail and cause enough noise to wake a napping bear. And, oh, the terrain. Ankle-breaking rock spills everywhere. Ledges, caves, old and new dens, rotted tree roots, poison ivy, poison oak, leaf-filled deer beds (holes) deep enough to fall into up to your hips, low branches to tear across your face. Don't get me wrong. I love it here. I just wouldn't want to be tracking a killer in the woods right now.
Last weekend mornings at my home it was 34 degrees Fahrenheit. And this came on the heels of a drenching rain. We expect a hard frost fairly soon (hopefully to be followed by a sweet, Indian Summer).
The community has stepped up. A Barrett Township Supervisor recently reported that volunteers had served over 700 breakfasts at the local fire house to most of the nearly 1000 law enforcement types trying to ferret this guy out.
It looks a little bit like Ferguson. We have hundreds of police cars, huge armored vehicles and officers in khaki armed to the teeth and loaded for bear. We have tactical equipment nobody has ever seen before. Helicopters are constantly overhead. But we have none of the animus, none of the lack of trust, none of the anger.
I've read that people in Ferguson are registering to vote in droves. Bravo! That is how you take your community back. That is how you fix the disparities, resolve the bitterness, demand your rights, stand up for your neighbors. I'm not saying it will be easy or quick. But perhaps someday the people of Ferguson, too, can live in a community like mine that, while a little fearful right now about a maniac running around in the woods, is grateful for the law enforcement community that serves we, the people.
Before you call me naive and/or uninformed, I am aware of our problems as well. Heck, the guy in charge of the State Police (Noonan) is himself now caught up in a pornography scandal. There is some limited reporting on the potential consequences of driving while black on I-80 nearby. We have our racists. And our wife beaters. And our child molesters. And our drugs. But there is nothing here like what we have seen in Ferguson. And, as a community, we keep trying.
The only way to change the Ferguson PD is to change the Ferguson PD leadership. The only way to change the PD leadership is through new municipal leadership. The only way to change the municipal leadership is to VOTE. The only way to get that idiotic prosecutor out of there is to VOTE. The only way to change the hiring practices regarding police, fire, rescue, EMS, municipal services, county leadership is to VOTE.
Things will never be perfect anywhere. But I promise you Ferguson, if you follow through and vote those who are holding you back out of office things will get better. Someday all of you have the right to look up into a local law enforcement officer's eyes and think, "Thank goodness you've come to help." I know. I've been there. And they've been there for me.