Checkpoints vs Roadblocks
Despite the apparently non-sequitur post heading, I am actually headed somewhere with this.
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Perhaps I am dating myself, but I can remember a time when police roadblocks were called roadblocks, not "checkpoints."
As Abe Lincoln pointed out, calling a tail a leg doesn't change its essential nature. The dog doesn't suddenly have five legs.
One has to wonder why police decided to change the term from roadblock to checkpoint. Calling a roadblock a checkpoint does not change its essential nature. Try driving through one without stopping if you don't believe me.
So, why this term officer-involve shooting? If a cop gets shot by a citizen or criminal, you don't see that term. You see, "Officer shot by..." It is still a shooting involving an officer. But, you don't see that term applied. The only time a police spokesperson goes indirect or third-person is when a cop is the one doing the shooting.
So why the soft-pedaling? Why fog up the responsible actor?
The least we can do is stop using the government's own lines.
I stopped using the word checkpoint years ago. I won't be using the term officer involved shooting any time soon.
