By Steve Pomper
Not again!
How many times are we going to go through this? And by this, I mean the repeated disrespect some government officials show for cops’ lives.
You may have noticed that I have a difficult time ignoring stories out of two states. One where I now live, Washington State, and the one where I was born and raised, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Both are decidedly blue states, which treat their police terribly.
I was going to write on an entirely different topic when this distressing bit of news scrolled across my iPhone screen from NBC Boston’s Bianca Beltrán: “Man who shot and killed officer in 1981 released on parole, Holliston police say.”
The Massachusetts Parole Board decided to release on parole cop-killer Rolando Jimenez, who was convicted of murdering the six-year veteran Holliston Police Officer John Johnson 43 years ago. Holliston Police Chief Matthew Stone was incensed when on August 14th the parole board notified him of the release.
The nightmare may have occurred more than four decades ago, for his family the pain never goes away completely. And the officers of the HPD are reminded of Ofc. Johnson’s ultimate sacrifice every single day.
As also reported by NBC Boston, “Display cases in the lobby of the Holliston Police Department contain various pictures of Johnson and news clippings detailing his murder in 1981. The training room located to the right of the lobby is named in honor of Johnson, displaying his portrait, and an American flag flown over the United States Capital in his memory, beside his name front and center.
“‘We’re minded [sic] every day about his sacrifice,’ Officer Jim Garrett told NBC10 Boston last year.”
Holliston, Mass. town seal Photo: (Public Domain, Wikimedia)
Back in March, Chief Stone testified against the cop killer’s release. Knowing that the vermin’s prior requests for parole, according to Matthew Holloway at Law Enforcement Today, had previously been declined five times. I’m sure the chief felt confident Jiminez would remain incarcerated. After all, Officer Johnson is still dead, right? And his family is still celebrating important family holidays and events without him and will continue to for the rest of their lives.
Chief Stone also wrote, “The decision by the Massachusetts Parole Board to release the murderer of a police officer back into the society in which he once terrorized is not only unfathomable, but goes against every moral that is right and that is just.”
Instead (not surprising with the current crop of extremists running Massachusetts), they released this man who intentionally murdered a cop in a horrifying, heartbreaking manner that should have earned him capital punishment.
According to court records, Officer Johnson spotted the suspect in a reported stolen vehicle and chased the suspect who’d apparently bailed out of the vehicle, on foot. Jiminez reportedly ambushed Ofc. Johnson, grappling with the officer, stealing his gun, shooting, and killing him.
The investigation found that after the cop-killer’s initial shot Ofc. Johnson, he fired twice more into the officer from point-blank range while the husband and father of an 11-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son lay on the ground, mortally wounded. Unknown to Ofc. Johnson, aside from the car theft, the suspect also had several outstanding felony warrants.
Too many of these officials abdicate their responsibility to the public, choosing to focus on the “poor” killer rather than on the true victims, the officer, his family, his friends, and fellow officers.
Just because a convict has redeemed himself through “good behavior,” perhaps having even found religion, doesn’t mean he should be released. Incarceration serves two functions: to protect society from repeat offenses and also to punish the offender.
They can even argue, “he’s not the same person he once was.” Maybe that’s true. Hopefully, it is. Perhaps he’s had a legitimate conversion, but the life he took from and death he delivered to Ofc. Johnson is also kind of final, right?
Can the Parole Board grant the police officer that this new parolee killed another chance to live a normal life with his wife Gerry. To watch their kids Brian and Jessica grow up and, later, perhaps, watching their grandchildren. No. Ofc. Johnson can never benefit from such a decision, and neither should his killer.
Facebook Link Holliston Police Dept.
Chief Stone was livid, expressing his dismay at the murderer’s release. In a press release posted on Facebook, Chief Stone wrote, “As a police officer, as a human being, and as your police chief, I am disgusted with the Parole Board’s unrighteous decision to release inmate Jiminez from prison.”
Too many people in positions of responsibility these days don’t think like normal people. They may have a slavish loyalty to an extreme ideology that clouds their judgment. Or they “outsmart” themselves by overthinking these decisions to the point they can’t make proper findings. Instead, they err on the side of the wrongdoer over those future (and past) innocent victims.
Make a difference. Support the NPA.
