Mourning the Police

As long blue lines of uniformed police paid solemn tribute to four fallen comrades last week, a chill swept through the nation's largest and sixth largest municipal law-enforcement agencies. On successive days, nearly 5,000 policemen from a dozen states gathered in New York for the funerals of Black Patrolman Waverly M. Jones and his white partner, Joseph A. Piagentini. The two were riddled in the back with .45-cal. bullets while answering a routine call in East Harlem. In the nation's capital, hundreds of uniformed and plainclothes D.C. policemen attended services honoring Officers Jerard Foster Young and William L. Sigmon, both killed while on active duty.

The murders, as well as the ambush and wounding of two other New York City patrolmen only days before, have prompted both thoughtless and thoughtful responses. Edward J. Kiernan, president of the New York Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, advised "every member assigned to a radio car to purchase a shotgun, keep it loaded," and, if need be, "shoot to kill."

The greater tragedy, of course, is that the wanton shooting of police inevitably leads to more violence and even reprisals. Already New York and Washington police have beefed up their patrols in potentially dangerous areas. If the attacks continue, it is the innocent who stand to suffer for the crackdown provoked by the fanatic few.

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