This is a story I followed closely, for all the obvious reasons, but also because my daughter volunteers at the hospital where the officer was taken (he died later that evening), so I was texting her to keep her appraised of the chaos and media circus that was about to rain down on them.
13 Likes
Iām glad she is okay.
15 Likes
I hope that she hasnāt been traumatized by this.
Out of curiosity, why was the officer taken to another hospital, when he was shot on the literal doorstop of one? Does the hospital he was taken to have specialists or better facilities?
7 Likes
Yes, he (and the pharmaceutical student/assistant) were taken to the best hospital on the south side, the University of Chicago Trauma Center. Plus, the police were still searching Mercy Hospital in case there was more than one shooter and/or to help anyone who might potentially have been shot and not yet found.
So far in 2018, this makes 2 Chicago police officers killed in the line of duty, against at least 62 women in Chicago killed by the men in their lives.
15 Likes
Yup, the same old pattern:
10 Likes
Excuse me? Why does a subject of a protection order still even have a gun, much less a concealed carry permit? Ow, wait, 'Murica.
13 Likes
Just a reminder that knife control is stricter than gun control in many parts of the US.
15 Likes
Itās a great point. I remember the last time I bought a chefās knife ā even in its sealed plastic packaging, in an opaque shopping bag, it felt weird taking it home on the subway.
ETA: āgreat pointā ā oh dear, I did it again.
10 Likes
After living in MT and TX the majority rules of my life, the thought of carrying a pocket knife could be illegal just boggles my mind.
Even here in IL I can carry my 7" dagger (provided Iām not carrying it with the intent to hurt someone)
9 Likes
@MalevolentPixy
@gadgetgirl
@Wisconsin_Platt
I remember when I first arrived in the big apple I usually carried a Victorinox jackknife with me. It was a simple model with a 3ā blade. I thought nothing of it. My coworkers at Macy*s, who had grown up in the city, got nervous when when they found out about it. They warned me about dire consquences if a cop found that on me. But, Iām white, so I wasnāt too worried about that.
7 Likes
I was thinking as I read the article: my grandparents carried small folding knives in their pockets most of their lives. My grandfather used his as a pencil sharpener most of the time; my grandmother used hers for trimming flower stems and breaking yarn. I still have my grandmotherās somewhere. It has a very pretty handle with a mother-of-pearl (probably fake) design on the handle. The blade has been sharpened so many times itās really too thin to use.
Itās quite a lot of work to unfold the blade ā the hinge is very stiff ā but I could see an overzealous lawyer calling it a āgravity knifeā.
One of the things that annoyed me in the article is all the people mentioned being caught with knives basically got in trouble for using public transit and/or walking to get to work. If theyād had a car or van to stow their gear in, they would have been fine.
13 Likes
Yes, this.
I carried a folding knife with me from late childhood/early teen years through just after 9/11. At the time, carrying folding knives was commonplace and almost literally nobody would consider them weapons. It wasnāt something anyone could pull in a fight. It had a very stiff blade that was hard to get toā¦ I had to prize it out rather than flip it open or push a button.
9 Likes
I have a Swiss army knife in my purse, though Iāve only maybe used it a couple of times. I usually forget itās in thereā¦ except for a few times Iāve had to pass the purse through x-ray machines. I think I told one security person, āthere may be a Swiss army knife in there, if you can find it you can have it.ā (I think it was some federal building that had a post office I needed to visit and I wasnāt sure it was allowed.) He just smiled and let it pass.
Iām pretty sure the biggest blade is 2 and a half inches, which is legal here, I think. One of these days Iāll come across it, take it out and leave it at homeā¦ which is when Iāll suddenly need it.
10 Likes
āwithā
This phone keyboard has a really hard time figuring out I swyped āwithā. Usually it writes āwutheringā from that one time I was in a discussion about Emily BrontĆ«.
9 Likes
I understand that if you just use an Australian accent and a grin, there wonāt be any problems at all.
14 Likes
I carry a 3ā Swiss Army knife in my pocket everywhere, and use it for all sorts of stuff. It never occurred to me it might be illegal somewhere. Except on airplanes. But I guess itās at the low end of ability to inflict damage. (āOw, you just cut off my hangnail!ā)
9 Likes
Same here. I even travel with it; just throw it in my checked bag and put it back into my pocket on the other end. I use it for everything from trimming a hanging thread to butchering a chicken to opening beer bottles. I go to England a lot and itās totally illegal there. I got pulled aside at Eurostar security a while back. They warned me it would get confiscated on the way back but let me through. I ended up mailing it home.
10 Likes
I am constitutionally unable to not have some form of tool on me at all times. I have both of my grandfatherās pocket knives, but donāt carry them with me anymore for the obvious reasons. So instead, I have a Utili-key on my key ring, even when traveling:
17 Likes
I have the same thing. I never remember to take things off of my key chain, so Iāve lost a few other multitools, but it looks exactly like a key, so itās never been spotted.
11 Likes
I want one! (Rushes to Google)
12 Likes