The DeKalb police do not seem to be living up to their sworn duty to serve and protect. It is not to say that they are entirely worthless, but they do at times exhibit a clear disregard for the safety and well-being of those that they are to assist.

On Wednesday afternoon, I was busy negotiating the quagmire of road construction that makes our campus resemble downtown Beirut after a thorough bombing run. As I drove down the crumbling hill behind the O’Conell theater, I noticed a police car partially blocking the road. In front of the squad was a large motorcycle lying on the ground with it’s owner trying in vain to upright it. The cyclist apparently skidded in the gravel surface at the bottom of the hill. Anyone who rides will tell you that bikes do go down and they are usually difficult to pick up. Instead of checking to see if the cyclist was okay and offering to help with the bike, the officer just sat in his car like a chunk of lard watching a twisted comedy show. He may as well have been inhaling doughnuts and chugging coffee in a greasy old doughnut mill. At least then his shinny cop car would not have been blocking the road.

Upon seeing this, I pulled my car over and went over to help the cyclist. Between the two of us we were easily able to return the bike to the upright. The police officer lazily drove off as we did this. Because of his occupation the cop should have been out of his car helping the poor guy with his heavy bike. More importantly, the cop should have been helping the guy not just as a cop, but as a person lending a hand to someone who needed it. If everyone were to act like this cop, this sometimes cold world will only become colder.

Quenton Galvin

Student at Large