Glenn E. Meyer
New member
From the NY Times
April 25, 2000
No Discipline for Officer Who Showed N.R.A. Video
By KEVIN FLYNN
olice Commissioner Howard Safir said yesterday that he would not
discipline a police officer who angered gun control advocates and several
parents last month by using a video produced by the National Rifle
Association to teach schoolchildren about gun safety.
Although he said he does not like the messenger, Mr. Safir said the message of the
N.R.A. video, which features a cartoon character named Eddie Eagle, was
consistent with the Police Department's teachings that children who encounter
guns should avoid them and alert an adult.
In the animated video, children who come upon a gun are told: "Don't touch.
Leave the area. Tell an adult." The video was shown in March to two classes of
fourth graders at P.S. 217 in Brooklyn by a youth officer from the 70th Precinct, but
there are no plans to show it in other schools, police officials said.
"The message in fact is a good message, even though I disagree totally with the
N.R.A.," Mr. Safir said.
But the public advocate, Mark Green, said at a news conference yesterday, and in
a letter to Mr. Safir, that the video severely understates the dangers of guns by
not describing them as lethal or demonstrating their deadly impact by including
interviews with victims. "Speaking as someone who has spent parts of six years
getting rid of Joe Camel billboards," Mr. Green said, "it is simply ludicrous to
believe that a cuddly cartoon character that never flatly says guns are lethal will
keep kids away from firearms."
Opponents of smoking have maintained that the use of the cartoon character Joe
Camel in cigarette ads was an attempt to lure children into the tobacco market.
Mr. Safir described Mr. Green, a frequent critic of the department, as a "cop
basher" and dismissed his news conference as a publicity stunt, but said that he
did not envision using the video again.
At the same time, Mr. Safir said he did not believe the officer had intended to do
anything more than teach children about the dangers of guns and, as a result, the
officer's action did not warrant any sort of reprimand. Marilyn Mode, a spokesman
for Mr. Safir, said she thought school administrators had approved the video
before it was shown. A Board of Education spokeswoman directed questions
about the incident, which was first reported in The Daily News, to School District
22. Board of Education officials said they could comment because the matter had
been handled by district officials.
An N.R.A. spokesman said the Eddie Eagle program had been designed in
conjunction with child psychologists and effectively presents a message of
avoidance without making value judgments about the morality of guns or firearms
ownership.
"It is a pure gun-avoidance, accident-prevention program for young kids," said the
spokesman, Bill Powers. "To those who would criticize it, I say, 'What have you
done?' "
April 25, 2000
No Discipline for Officer Who Showed N.R.A. Video
By KEVIN FLYNN
olice Commissioner Howard Safir said yesterday that he would not
discipline a police officer who angered gun control advocates and several
parents last month by using a video produced by the National Rifle
Association to teach schoolchildren about gun safety.
Although he said he does not like the messenger, Mr. Safir said the message of the
N.R.A. video, which features a cartoon character named Eddie Eagle, was
consistent with the Police Department's teachings that children who encounter
guns should avoid them and alert an adult.
In the animated video, children who come upon a gun are told: "Don't touch.
Leave the area. Tell an adult." The video was shown in March to two classes of
fourth graders at P.S. 217 in Brooklyn by a youth officer from the 70th Precinct, but
there are no plans to show it in other schools, police officials said.
"The message in fact is a good message, even though I disagree totally with the
N.R.A.," Mr. Safir said.
But the public advocate, Mark Green, said at a news conference yesterday, and in
a letter to Mr. Safir, that the video severely understates the dangers of guns by
not describing them as lethal or demonstrating their deadly impact by including
interviews with victims. "Speaking as someone who has spent parts of six years
getting rid of Joe Camel billboards," Mr. Green said, "it is simply ludicrous to
believe that a cuddly cartoon character that never flatly says guns are lethal will
keep kids away from firearms."
Opponents of smoking have maintained that the use of the cartoon character Joe
Camel in cigarette ads was an attempt to lure children into the tobacco market.
Mr. Safir described Mr. Green, a frequent critic of the department, as a "cop
basher" and dismissed his news conference as a publicity stunt, but said that he
did not envision using the video again.
At the same time, Mr. Safir said he did not believe the officer had intended to do
anything more than teach children about the dangers of guns and, as a result, the
officer's action did not warrant any sort of reprimand. Marilyn Mode, a spokesman
for Mr. Safir, said she thought school administrators had approved the video
before it was shown. A Board of Education spokeswoman directed questions
about the incident, which was first reported in The Daily News, to School District
22. Board of Education officials said they could comment because the matter had
been handled by district officials.
An N.R.A. spokesman said the Eddie Eagle program had been designed in
conjunction with child psychologists and effectively presents a message of
avoidance without making value judgments about the morality of guns or firearms
ownership.
"It is a pure gun-avoidance, accident-prevention program for young kids," said the
spokesman, Bill Powers. "To those who would criticize it, I say, 'What have you
done?' "