What's Right With This Picture?

I have visited about a half-dozen sites this evening that seem to have a problem with the following photograph, which shows Brian Nichols being escorted by a federal agent to a waiting vehicle, for transport to the Atlanta office of the FBI.

The problem seems to be the fact that Brian Nichols overpowered a female deputy at the courthouse, and they feel it was wrong for the authorities to allow a female agent to escort him to the waiting vehicle. They want us to think there is something wrong about the photo.

First of all, Nichols overpowered a female deputy after his handcuffs had been removed. The Supreme Court has ruled that a person who is incarcerated cannot be restrained in the courtroom, or appear in jail house attire, when being tried in front of a jury, because it plants the thought that the defendant is guilty before they even hear the evidence. He overpowered the deputy as she was removing his handcuffs, per the laws that dictate she do so. Clearly, in this picture, Nichols is restrained with handcuffs, at the very least, so this comparison cannot be the motive for such displeasure with the photograph.

Second, the female deputy was apparently alone when he overpowered her. I am sure this will be the underlying "issue" when all of the so called experts analyze what has happened over the course of the past few days. Apparently Fulton County has had a problem with manpower for a long time, in fact, former sheriff Jackie Barrett (no relation) complained about it for many years. Clearly, in this picture, the female agent is not alone while escorting him to the vehicle, so this comparison cannot be the motive for such displeasure with the photograph.

There is something else I would like to point out, but I will get to that in a moment.

Having worked in a county jail in the past, I can tell you that the female officers are, in most cases, just as able as the men in most, if not all, aspects of handling inmates. One of the female officers who worked in the jail where I worked was barely five feet tall but I saw her take down a 6 foot 5 inch, 200 plus pound man, faster than most men ever could. Another time an inmate tried to overpower a female officer by grabbing her hair and throwing her to the ground. That man lost too. In fact, he went to the hospital while she sat in our break room smoking a cigarette (yes, that shows how long ago I worked there). Many of the sites which noted the problem with the photo also said that female law enforcement officers could actually put people at risk, and that's just a lot of finger-pointing, back-stabbing, political bullshit. It's nice to think you know it all, sitting at your computer typing away at your anti-Political Correct post, but when push comes to shove, women can definitely hold their own in times of crisis. Nichols had planned this for days, and he was desperate. He had already been caught with weapons, and he would have overpowered any officer, male or female, if given the opportunity. I think it is a shame that some of the female bloggers out there feel justified in supporting such a position, especially when they too have had to work harder than the males in their profession, just to prove they are just as capable of doing the same job.

Now, on to the point I wanted to make.

Brian Nichols overpowered a female deputy to make his initial "break". What better message to send back to the inmates at the Fulton County Jail than for them to see the "tough guy" being escorted back, by a female? When dealing with inmates, especially those like Nichols, the psychological restraint is just as important as the physical restraints, and there is no substitution for humility.