I don't see any problem with someone who has skin in the
game and who is passionate getting involved [...] The
fact that he is rich and politically connected makes him
that much more able to tackle the problem.
An example:
* Me and the mayor live on the same street, in the rich area of town, where there are ten potholes that really annoy us both. I'm always bugging him about it.
* There are a thousand potholes over the rest of the city. The mayor can't afford to fix them this year, but he'd like to soon. Maybe with a tax increase, or a cut to the parks budget?
* I form a local pothole-fixing task force. With the mayor's consent, my neighbours and I raise $2000 and hire someone to fix the ten potholes that annoy us.
* The mayor is no longer annoyed by potholes, and I no longer bug him about it. He realises nobody really wants a tax increase, or a cut to the parks budget.
* The remaining 990 potholes don't get fixed. Sucks not to live in the rich part of town!
If Torres was sending his forces across the entire city equally, it would be a different matter! But fixing 10 potholes is much easier to afford than fixing 1000.
I think what really bothers me about this private police force is the fact that they act so specifically to the will of one man, rather than as a public unit that is funded by the people and administered effectively to serve the people.
I would applaud his actions if he was a publicly elected official. Giuliani and the NYPD did a great job in NY. It just rubs me the wrong way that this man gets to subvert the system and hire a squad of armed off-duty police officers to respond to his beck and call.
Disruption is one thing when you're a tech startup in silicon valley. It's a whole different beast when it involves cops for hire in armored golf carts, driving around with guns.
Most universities and gated communities are, in effect, private cities within larger municipalities. A "Private" city generally has a private police force paid for by the inhabitants, and a public city should have a public police force paid for by the public.
This guy is taking private policing to his surrounding public neighborhood.
Are armed off-duty police officers working a second job allowed to use their own municipally-provided sidearms, or must they purchase and use their own? I assume the latter, unless all police officers might be asked to purchase and register their own sidearms for use on- and off-duty.
A vigilante would shoot the malefactors on the spot, but these officers are arresting the individuals in cooperation with the nopd and their cases are adjudicated like any others.
I don't see any problem with someone who has skin in the game and who is passionate getting involved in local governance and trying to find a better way forward.
The fact that he is rich and politically connected makes him that much more able to tackle the problem. I suppose the optics would be better if he just packed up and left town and left New Orleans to stew in its own juice. Then he couldn't be accused of a rich guy bossing little guys around. However, this guy has a wealth, talent, and influence, and he's choosing to apply them responsibly. He should be applauded.