To the editor:
Recently, a miracle occurred in New York City. Two bombs with 83% of the power of dynamite were thrown into crowd, but neither detonated. Videos illustrated the quick reaction time of the NYPD officers who had both suspects on the ground within seconds.
Two things caught my eye. Not one officer was masked. All officers wore body cameras. In South Dakota, the same protocol holds true. No Huron Police Officers, Beadle County Deputy Sheriffs or State Highway Patrol Officers wear masks. All of them wear body cameras. Why? Masks create fear, followed by rage. Body cameras protect suspects AND officers by recording what really happens during a confrontation. These protocols are everywhere except ICE and Border Patrol agents. Safety’s a red herring. It’s tricky to keep 6,000 uniformed strangers anonymous. Local unmasked officers tend to desire being known as good guys.
Many have been upset with the search warrants used by ICE and Border Patrol. A bench warrant requires a judge’s signature. An administrative search warrant for ICE is “legal” if signed by someone from Homeland Security Administration. It seems in St. Paul, stacks of “fill in the blanks search warrants” were available before and after homes were broken into.
Total government shutdown was avoided when both parties agreed to fund everything but Homeland Security. “No masks, all wear body cameras, only judicial search warrants used” were Democratic demands to prevent shutdown. Republican response; “all non-negotiable.” The result: long lines at airports, air traffic errors and near misses, delayed assistance from FEMA for recent natural disasters. Not sure how important that is as DOGE had cut FEMA funding 50% earlier. ICE and Border Patrol were awarded $139B in ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’ So they continue as before.
C. John McEnelly
Huron
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