This could happen to you with the Cop

By MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

These two events being sensationalized in the media could happen to you.

EVENT 1

A bulky tall teenager robbed the staff of a convenience store, shoved away the frail male attendant who blocked his way, rode in a car with his friends, flagged in a distance away by the police, he rushed to the cop, policeman pulled his pistol (he had no taser at that time), shot several times to death the guy.

Members of the community there went berserk by staging rallies, vandalizing and looting stores after the prosecutor through a grand jury did not find probable cause to indict the police with homicide.

One of the experts that defend the teenager said if there is clear and present danger, the policeman has the right to shot him.

(Note: One critic of the police action wants to the extent that the accused cop, a huge man, should have hid inside his car locked it and calls his back-ups and arrest the robber.

“He should not resort in shooting the guy who has no gun”.

Other panelist assailed the critic: Police don’t run, they stay on their ground because it’s their duty to maintain order)

EVENT 2

A more than six- foot tall stout man had been cornered by several policemen whose height has been overshadowed by that of their fray.

The arrestee protested that he no longer sells bootlegged cigarettes and why the cops kept badgering him and not to mention the countless arrest they made on him earlier.

A policeman surreptitiously sneaked at his back, jumped on him and choke hold him by his right arm, piggybacked on him so he fall face down on the pavement.

Other cops jumped on him by pinning him on the ground. One put a hand to lock his head while the other one put his knee at the back of the guy to restrain him.

“I can’t breath,” he protested for 11 times before he collapsed.

He died in the ambulance that brought him to the hospital.

Police blamed acute and chronic bronchial asthma, obesity and hypertensive cardiovascular disease that caused his controversial death that sparked anti-police demonstrations and calls for government’s investigation.

His family, friends, and TV viewers blamed the choke hold that caused his untimely demise.

The prosecutor through a grand jury did not find probable cause to indict the police who choked the man.

Members of the community and the nearby places in the country staged rallies against the patent police brutalities.

Event 2 happened in July in Staten Island, New York. The deceased was Eric Garner, age 43.

 Event 1 ensued last August 9 in Ferguson, Missouri. The guy is Michael Brown, 18 years old.

Both of these incidents have been incendiaries to the present prolonged protests in different States in the U.S participated primordially by blacks who shout racial discrimination and double standard whenever a black man has brushes with the law enforcement.

***

Have you not observed that car and motorcycle owners are smiling these days?  The prices of petroleum have been plunging. When I went recently to San Fernando City La Union from Dagupan City, the price per liter of premium gasoline was more than P46.  I presumed the price of unleaded gas is at P45 something. It was just sometimes that price of premium and unleaded hovers around P50 and P49 liters respectively.  We can expect that next week another roll back of the prices of petroleum would be implemented.

Why the gas prices sink? The answer is the Saudis, number one oil producer in the world, prompted by the pressure of the Americans, have been pumping more oil and giving big discounts at the market at the expense of the Russian- the No. 3 oil producer in the globe.

According to Bloomberg’s news, the U.S and Saudi Arabia have been doing this to punish and weaken Russian President Vladimir Putin after he invaded Ukraine’s Autonomous Republic of Crimea   and blamed for the shooting down by pro Russian insurgents in Crimea of Malaysian Airline MH17 killing 298 Passengers

With the sanction imposed by the U.S and the European Union against the Ivan’s, many experts are expecting that the Putin Government will later crumble as its people suffer into hyperinflation, unemployment, and pensioners ( as their $83.2 billion Wellbeing Fund would be depleted after Putin used them to subsidize losing companies not to retrench workers) go to the streets and create anarchy.

Oil plays a major role in the Putin government that each barrel its businessmen exported the government gets $43.21 (the lowest since November 1) as duty or tax.

Presently the price of a barrel in Russia, according to Bloomberg, is $84.97 a barrel in London last November.

“The budget will fall into deficit next year if oil is less than $104 a barrel, according to investment bank Sberbank CIB. At $90, Russia will have a shortfall of 1.2 percent of gross domestic product,” Bloomberg said.

Some Reds in the Philippines have been cheering for Putin the way they laud China. One of them posted at Face Book that the former KGB Colonel can wiggle on this crisis through the Russian Winter.

The harsh Russian Winter could be his figure of speech or literally a bitter cold thing that people in the West gravitate to their petrol powered fireplaces.

In October 1812 and  October 1941 the unforgiving winter and daunting mud helped killed the hundreds of thousands of the shivering and starving Grande Armée of Napoleon Bonaparte in the Battle of Maloyaroslavets and snapped over 210,000 lives and wounding 620, 000 (one third of it died on their wounds) of Adolf Hitler’s four million Nazi troops and their allies in Operation Barbarossa who were cornered and routed by the soldiers of Czar Alexander 1 and Joesph Stalin when they try to escape and invade Moscow.  But I doubt if the Russian Winter could give succor to the Ivan’s after U.S President Barrack Obama and the European Union's leaders imposed sanctions to Putin’s government. Not to mention the choke hold being dealt to them by the willing “conspirator” Saudi Arabia that pumped cheap oil, and don't forget the big discounts, for those who need them in their fireplaces this winter.

(You can read my selected columns at http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and articles at Pangasinan News Aro. You can send comments too at totomortz@yahoo.com).