Memorial

Brian Jackson responded to a domestic dispute with shots fired in East Dallas last week. It's the kind of crime that cops in my neighborhood deal with every day. And it goes something like this: blue collar laborer --- whose friends say is a decent human being when sober --- gets drunk as hell and turns into the proverbial asshole. On this night, drunk asshole decides he needs to pay a visit to his ex-girlfriend, who didn't show up at the club he wanted her to go to. He goes to girlfriend's house really late, finds her there, starts yelling and pulls out his pistol and starts firing shots in the ceiling. For reasons only he knows, he leaves, after miraculously managing not to kill anybody. He and his buddy drive around for a while and notice that a ton of cops are at ex-girlfriend's house. Buddy tells asshole they should not stop, but asshole, being an asshole, says he's going to stop. And if the cops get in his way, that's their problem. So he gets out and starts displaying his drunk asshole full plumage. And he makes good on his promise, firing at will at the cops. And one of the asshole's bullets finds its way underneath the arm of officer Brian Jackson where his bullet proof vest can't protect him. He dies, becoming the 76th Dallas police officer since 1888 to die in the line of duty. Jackson was 28 years old.

In recent years, most Dallas police officers have died in traffic accidents. But I bet significant portion of those 76 dead police officers have given their lives protecting Dallas residents from the most common of criminals here --- the drunk asshole.