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University of Iowa anti-war protests, 1970

1970-09-26 Daily Iowan Guest Editorial: ""A word about the Chief""

The Daily Iowan 
OPINIONS

PAGE 2 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1970 IOWA CITY IOWA

Publisher Frank Hash, Assistant Publisher Mary Kauppt, Editor Leona Durham, Managing Editor Amy Chapman, News Editor Al Cloud, Copy Editor John Camp, Editorial Page Editor Cheryl Miller, Sports Editor, Jay Ewoldt, Fine Arts Editor Gary Britson, Associate News Editor Lowell May, Associate City-University Editor Kristelle Petersen, Associate City-University Editor Debbie Romine, Associate Sports Editor John Richards, Advertising Director Roy Dunsmore, Circulation Manager James Conlin. 

A guest editorial 
A word about the Chief

Patrick J. McCarney, the chief of Iowa City's 39-member police force, is many things to many people. 
To his wife and children he is a loving father. To his fellow police officers he is an incredibly competent and personable director of police activities. To the politically right he is a bearer of Love It of Leave It standards. To the politically left he is a pig. And to this writer he is a continual source of bewilderment. 
I spent a summer with Pat McCarney. As a police reporter in Iowa city I spent most of my waking hours either exploring the confines of his mind and his department or sitting at a typewriter trying to find ways to best describe the activities of both. I have grown to know him over the summer, and his recent popularity in the political press forces me again to find a way to best describe this new-found figure of controversy. 
He dismisses the recent uproar over his political beliefs with this analogy: " You know, Tom, this whole thing is a bucket of sh*t. The more you stir it, the more it stinks."
Laugh if you must. But then stop and think.
After a recent speech which contained some no-holds barred indications of his beliefs, McCarney was dragged unmercifully through the coals by some factions of the local media. Consequently, he has adopted a "If-I-keep-my-mouth-shut-I'll-have-no-problems" policy, and he has placed a sign upon his desk which states plainly, " No Comment."
His position is clear, " I'm proud of this flag," he says pointing to a lapel pin of Old Glory on his police blazer. " I support any place where this flag is flown."His manner is fervently patriotic and upon first impression he systematically classifies any person with long hair as a deviate who probably subscribes to Marxist philosophies.
" I still believe that the people in Washington. Presidents Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy and Truman . . . or whoever and their staffs know more about Vietnam and foreign policy than the students who sit on the Pentacrest," he says. 
Like his positions, his responsibilities are also clear " I am paid to enforce the law. If people - whether they be students or not - take to the streets of this city and break the law, they will be arrested."
It's a simple policy, and in light of his position, it is perhaps the only policy which he can adopt. 
McCarney is scared. Almost paranoid. "Watch what you say," he has told fellow journalists, " My office may be bugged." He has told civic groups that "they" are watching him and the workings of his department from the windows of the adjacent Davis Hotel. "The first bomb to be exploded in Iowa City will probably be placed either at the ROTC building or under my office," he says.
In a sense. I can understand his fears. No doubt  there is a contingent of hardcore revolutionaries who would like nothing better than to impale his graying head on a sharpened stick and parade it through the streets. But this faction, it seems to me, is ore paranoid and more scared than the chief. 
Pat McCarney is not to be ignored. The sheer manpower and weaponry at his immediate disposal eliminates that alternative. Pat McCarney is not to be feared. He is not to be hates. He is not to be cursed. He is only to be pitied. 
What person among us would trade positions with Pat McCarney ? Is it easier to throw a brick or pull a trigger?
I am not praising the chief. Nor am I condemning him. I am merely trying to paint a true-to-life picture of this controversial figure so that a few of us may better understand his methods and his moods. 
In times as tense as these, God knows we all could use a little understanding. 
Tom C. Walsh A3
432 S. Johnson

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The Daily Iowan OPINIONS PAGE 2 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1970 IOWA CITY IOWA Publisher Frank Hash, Assistant Publisher Mary Kauppt, Editor Leona Durham, Managing Editor Amy Chapman, News Editor Al Cloud, Copy Editor John Camp, Editorial Page Editor Cheryl Miller, Sports Editor, Jay Ewoldt, Fine Arts Editor Gary Britson, Associate News Editor Lowell May, Associate City-University Editor Kristelle Petersen, Associate City-University Editor Debbie Romine, Associate Sports Editor John Richards, Advertising Director Roy Dunsmore, Circulation Manager James Conlin. A guest editorial A word about the Chief Patrick J. McCarney, the chief of Iowa City's 39-member police force, is many things to many people. To his wife and children he is a loving father. To his fellow police officers he is an incredibly competent and personable director of police activities. To the politically right he is a bearer of Love It of Leave It standards. To the politically left he is a pig. And to this writer he is a continual source of bewilderment. I spent a summer with Pat McCarney. As a police reporter in Iowa city I spent most of my waking hours either exploring the confines of his mind and his department or sitting at a typewriter trying to find ways to best describe the activities of both. I have grown to know him over the summer, and his recent popularity in the political press forces me again to find a way to best describe this new-found figure of controversy. He dismisses the recent uproar over his political beliefs with this analogy: " You know, Tom, this whole thing is a bucket of sh*t. The more you stir it, the more it stinks." Laugh if you must. But then stop and think. After a recent speech which contained some no-holds barred indications of his beliefs, McCarney was dragged unmercifully through the coals by some factions of the local media. Consequently, he has adopted a "If-I-keep-my-mouth-shut-I'll-have-no-problems" policy, and he has placed a sign upon his desk which states plainly, " No Comment." His position is clear, " I'm proud of this flag," he says pointing to a lapel pin of Old Glory on his police blazer. " I support any place where this flag is flown."His manner is fervently patriotic and upon first impression he systematically classifies any person with long hair as a deviate who probably subscribes to Marxist philosophies. " I still believe that the people in Washington. Presidents Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy and Truman . . . or whoever and their staffs know more about Vietnam and foreign policy than the students who sit on the Pentacrest," he says. Like his positions, his responsibilities are also clear " I am paid to enforce the law. If people - whether they be students or not - take to the streets of this city and break the law, they will be arrested." It's a simple policy, and in light of his position, it is perhaps the only policy which he can adopt. McCarney is scared. Almost paranoid. "Watch what you say," he has told fellow journalists, " My office may be bugged." He has told civic groups that "they" are watching him and the workings of his department from the windows of the adjacent Davis Hotel. "The first bomb to be exploded in Iowa City will probably be placed either at the ROTC building or under my office," he says. In a sense. I can understand his fears. No doubt there is a contingent of hardcore revolutionaries who would like nothing better than to impale his graying head on a sharpened stick and parade it through the streets. But this faction, it seems to me, is ore paranoid and more scared than the chief. Pat McCarney is not to be ignored. The sheer manpower and weaponry at his immediate disposal eliminates that alternative. Pat McCarney is not to be feared. He is not to be hates. He is not to be cursed. He is only to be pitied. What person among us would trade positions with Pat McCarney ? Is it easier to throw a brick or pull a trigger? I am not praising the chief. Nor am I condemning him. I am merely trying to paint a true-to-life picture of this controversial figure so that a few of us may better understand his methods and his moods. In times as tense as these, God knows we all could use a little understanding. Tom C. Walsh A3 432 S. Johnson