Who is Doc Wigington? Texas sheriff blames parents for lawless children: 'It's not our job to raise your kid'
A Texas sheriff recently took to Facebook to share a long-winded rant about the public saying how police officers need “more training, better de-escalation tactics, and possibly shooting the subject in the leg”. This post comes in the wake of the fatal police shooting of 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant.
On Tuesday, April 20, in Columbus, Ohio police officer Nicholas Reardon fatally shot the Black teenager. Body-camera footage showed Reardon, who was responding to a 911 call, arriving at the scene, with several people engaged in a heated fight, outside Bryant’s foster home. As the officer got out of his vehicle, Bryant was seen lunging at a woman with what appeared to be a knife in her hand. Officer Reardon pulled out his gun and fired four quick shots, killing Bryant.
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On April 24, Throckmorton County Sheriff Doc Wigington, wrote on the official Sheriff's Office Facebook page: “In the news cycle over the last few weeks have been stories of young people being shot by police in some type of altercation or another. The public is quick to jump on the officers involved stating a need for more training, better de-escalation tactics, and possibly shooting the subject in the leg. Let me address these so-called solutions.”
“First this is not the old west movies and a leg wound is just as serious as a shot to center mass,” Wigington wrote. “When the use of deadly force is warranted that is exactly what it is DEADLY FORCE, not flesh wound force, not any other words to describe it just deadly force.”
He further said, “Officers have to make decisions of life and death in a matter of seconds that attorney's, judges, and the general public can debate for years and possibly forever,” adding that it is easy to post an opinion on social media as to “how I would have handled it” instead of “armchair quarterbacks we now have armchair police.”
“If a person thinks they could handle the situation differently, I encourage them to join an academy and become an officer,” he said. “As for the training of officers, we must have continuing education hours the entire time we are officers. Officers have state-mandated schools that are required to keep their licenses. Officers have so much training that is required in some cases it is hard to find the time to complete the CE's. Training from family violence, cultural diversity to interaction with canines and everything you could possibly think.”
Regarding de-escalation tactics, he said that “these only work when the subject is willing to listen and not in a rage. Just like when we as parents had a child throwing a fit, they would not listen well the same goes for adults.” He then said, “IT IS NOT THE JOB OF THE OFFICER TO RAISE YOUR KID. Parents need to take responsibility for the actions of their FAILURE to raise their child to be respectful, responsible and listen to authority figures.”
“Little tip… sometimes your kid is wrong and needs to be disciplined,” he said. “Jumping on teachers, coaches, etc. All their life gives the kids a feeling they can do no wrong and they do not have to comply with authority figures. Parents need to be parents to their kids, not their best friends. So help your child, be a parent, teach them manners, responsibility, how to work, respect for themselves, and respect for others. We have gotten away from treating others as we wish to be treated we need to go back to that soon. By the time that Law Enforcement has to get involved in your child's life, it's usually past time to be a parent.”
This post was met with harsh criticism in the comments. “No it is not the responsibility of the police to parent anyone’s child, but it is their responsibility not to pull over and arrest a person of color for the same infraction that a Caucasian would not have been,” wrote one person in the comments. “Quit being so quick to kill unarmed civilians without due process. If you can't, you shouldn't be allowed to carry firearms because you cannot use them responsibly,” said another.
“Sheriff, with all due respect, all parents expect their children, as the public expects, to be protected and served by law enforcement. Unfortunately, many in your ranks take extrajudicial measures and are easily corrupted,” wrote one commenter.