Others have already mentioned the unfortunate shooting of undercover police officer Lisa Ramsey in Fort Worth. Public accounts are still incomplete, but it looks like she or some other officer made a buy from a crack dealer outside a convenience store then came back when he was inside to arrest him. Not wanting to have her cover blown, she wore a mask. Expecting trouble, she pulled a gun. To the store clerk, she now looked exactly like an armed robber, so he drew his own gun (this was Texas, after all) and shot her.
She’s going to survive, but the doctors expect her to be paralyzed from the waist down.
I’ve always thought it was a bad idea for the police to wear masks. Aside from the police-state ambiance created by anonymous, faceless gun-wielding cops, there’s the real risk of being attacked in self-defense by people who think the cops are badguys because they’re wearing masks. It’s hard to say how often this happens, because usually the cops prevail tactically and kill anyone who shoots at them.
Here’s the part that gets me, from Police Chief Ralph Mendoza:
"I can tell you the officer is a brave officer and a courageous officer."
I have no doubt that this is true. But why is she doing stuff like this, all in the service of the War on Drugs? Why was her bravery and courage expended in such a stupid, stupid way?