Fred Luddington gets it.
In the past two weeks, the names Michael McKinney and RobertDuplain have become -- because of the most tragic of events --household names in Muncie. By now, the story is old. McKinney, acollege student stumbling to a friend's house from the bars, wasshot and killed by Duplain, a rookie cop who thought his own safetywas in danger.
Most people on and off this small campus have formed strong,unwavering opinions about who was wrong in this case. They say thatDuplain should be fired, the University Police Department needs tochange its policies or the state legislature has to require moretraining for beginning cops.
These people, who are all talk and no action, just don't get it,but Luddington does.
Luddington, president of the Parker City Town Council and ownerof Ludco Gun Shop, has donated two TASERs to his police departmentto prevent tragedies like the one Ball State has experienced.
A TASER is a stun gun with a range of about 20 feet. It can turna suspect's body into Jell-O just long enough for police to cuffand detain him.
Luddington is not complaining about the way things are anddemanding change. Instead, he is doing what everyone should bedoing: initiating change.
Of course, it's not practical or even possible to ask studentsto donate TASERs. The cheapest units cost about $400.
And asking students to write their state representatives,student government or police department isn't practical either.Doing that is like asking Bobby Knight to use his inside voice. Itjust ain't gonna happen.
But if Ball State students, as well as police officers, followLuddington's example and do what is within their reach, accidentslike this might not happen.
If Ball State men and women who are out barhopping on theweekends don't go home alone, the chances of going to the wronghouse would decrease. Two impaired minds are better than one.
If the police union stands up and demands access to and trainingfor less-than-lethal weapons, officers will have more optionsavailable to them. Whether they will use those weapons or not is acolumn for a different day.
The key thing to remember, though, is that accidents willhappen. The Muncie Police Department is trained and equipped withbatons, pepper spray and -- more recently -- TASERs. MPD also hasstricter guidelines for rookie officers, but there have been threeMuncie police shooting deaths in the past eight years.
Until two weeks ago, Ball State police have never shot andkilled a suspect.
Nobody wants a mess like this to happen again, but few peopleseem willing to do something to protect themselves.
Don't write your congressional representative. The process takestoo long, and most college students don't vote anyway.
Instead, take care of yourself. If everybody does that, nobodywill have to worry.
Write to Jay at jdkenworthy@bsu.edu
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