Routinely we read in our local crime reports where suspects who were being arrested fought against the officers and had to be tazed to bring them under control. In some instances they have injured officers and damaged government property (police vehicles). Quite often we read where they have to be chased down.

Being belligerent and aggressive to the point of assault happens so often that seemingly it has become the theme of a couple of television reality shows.

No doubt there are those officers who have over-reacted in pursuit of suspects. Bad policing has made headlines on numerous occasions, creating much community unrest. Yes it must be addressed.

But for the moment, let’s deal with those suspects who resist arrest to the point of endangering officers and perhaps the general public by resisting and in some instances have attempted to take away an officer’s firearm.

These suspects put officers between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Too many bad things can happen when an officer is trying to physically subdue a suspect who is bent on escaping or doing that officer harm.

So perhaps it’s time that our lawmakers take a very strong look at these situations and stiffen the penalties for those who try to elude or resist arrest to the point of assault on an officer.

This is in no way meant to excuse an officer who violates department policies on making arrests and those who blatantly over-react.

Meanwhile, we have many very good officers out there who follow the rules, seek to de-escalate volatile situations and otherwise perform good police work. But even on their best day when they have to physically struggle with a criminal suspect the opportunity for things to go bad are exponentially greater.

Of course there are those for whom stiffer penalties would not be a deterrent in these issues, but perhaps it might cause a few to rethink their penchant for belligerence.