No one was shocked that Hurricane Helene was so destructive. We might not have expected it to be as bad as it turned out, but we knew it wouldn't be pretty.
In response to what was expected, Okeechobee, Florida's police chief suspected gun and ammo sales. This, unsurprisingly, sparked the proverbial (poop)storm that always follows such a thing. Now, the chief is not just rescinding the order, but trying to explain what happened.
Maybe it's just me, but it rings a little hollow:
The order, which initially cited Florida Statute 870.044, went to effect Thursday, September 26 for a few hours. It was signed by Police Chief Donald Hagan ahead of Hurricane Helene’s arrival. The city issued a statement and spoke with CBS12 News about the error.
“This is something that was mistakenly enacted. Once we learned that the emergency order was not the order that we intended to declare, we immediately terminated it,” Det. Jarret Romanello, Public Information Officer for the Okeechobee City Police Department, told CBS12 News on Monday.
Calls and emails started pouring in, despite the termination of the order.
“He’s not here today because he was subject to personal attacks all day from all over this country,” Romanello said, referring to Chief Hagan. “Most of the noise is coming from people that live outside the city of Okeechobee.”
Oh, boo-freaking-hoo.
He was subject to attacks on his capacity as chief of police, but it was because he unilaterally decided to suspend the Second Amendment in his community. How does something like that happen by accident?
I mean, this was the sign that was printed and posted:
Hagan signed this. He knew what it said. He signed it and put the order into effect.
How are we supposed to believe this was all a big accident? What, he signed it without verifying it was what he meant to sign? That's not exactly reassuring for the taxpayers of Okeechobee, now is it?
This doesn't look like a simple mistake that no one should bat an eye over.
The only upside here is that it looks like there was no attempt to enforce it and no gun store stopped operations. Yet, the truth of the matter is that there could easily have been, and the excuses being given aren't exactly filling anyone with confidence in the chief or his ability to do the job.
He might be a great police chief. This might be the rare, odd mistake.
But it's such a glaring mistake that it's impossible to ignore, and simply saying, "That's not what we meant to do," is troubling. I still don't see why this particular order was written up in the first place unless there was some belief that this was what Hagan intended to do. Moreover, Hagan signed it. That's not something that can be brushed off easily.
If his feelings got hurt after this colossal screw-up, that's something he'll have to learn to get over. People take their Second Amendment rights seriously and take the rights of others seriously as well. If you unilaterally sign an order suspending those rights, especially when the conditions haven't been met for the relevant law, be prepared for unkind things to be said.
Especially if you give this weaksauce explanation.