Drinking and driving with a walker, floodwaters and a rainy night: reporting the minutes with an officer of the TPD

Ronald DeRosa of the Register Citizen reporting.

Sort of a mildly interesting fly-on-the-wall read during a calm night with one of Torrington's finest. But it's the comment section following the article that starts to raise a few eyebrows. Torrington mutants? Rags?

"DUDLEY wrote on May 11, 2009 8:40 AM:
" What a terrible article. You went on a ride along on a Thursday during a rain storm. Everyone knows that the Torrington Mutants don't come out in the rain. To be fair, why don't you go on a ride along on a summer weekend and witness what these guys really have to deal with, the bar fights the heroin addicts the and the typical torrington rags that walk around downtown. ""

It's Dudley's wording that amuses me. I've heard this 'Torrington rag' thing before, but mutants? Look, I've had my run ins with some uncomfortable-to-be-around locals downtown, but the rants I've often found associated with them is downright hateful. Sometimes I find myself reading the RC online just to catch some of these comentees and their colorful wording... it's amusing and depressive at the same time.. [as an aside, I think he states a great point, that an article like this should illustrate the violent offenders the local cops really have to deal with, though I'm aware this was more as a candid piece than some sort of exposé.]

I'm not saying that we shouldn't have a better system to deal with the mentally challenged and questionable people in Torrington. I once had some friends in town from out of state, and upon visiting downtown we ran into a certain individual who gleefully recounted dismembering someone with his car. We were trying to get back into our car and leave but out of a strange sense of courtesy we were sucked into his story, unable to say, "why the fuck are you telling us this?!" This, I could do without in the town I live in. But I digress.

I think at the heart of Torrington, we're better than this hateful diatribe that I read frequently from purported locals. Sure it may only be a few people, but it's still shitty to know people feel this way.

Anyways.

For the sake of continuity, I'll end this post with my own thoughts on police salaries, as it was apparently a hot topic of debate within the above mentioned comment section. I think the police should be paid much more than they are on average, but there should be much, much more rigorous prerequisites to be a cop. Don't you want the most qualified individual to come to your assistance when you or a loved one is in distress? I certainly do. And for people who put their asses on the line for others, and that includes soldiers, firefighters, etc - these people don't get paid nearly enough.