Small kids pee in the fountain

How much consideration should we extend to criminals? I'm not talking suspects here, I mean someone who has been seen by police committing a crime or are on some "wanted" list. I find it very difficult to work up any sympathy, if, during their apprehension, they are injured while resisting arrest.

Criminal activity is a voluntary behavior. If you don't engage in crime, chances are very good the police will never arrest you. If you are arrested, it is foolish to risk injury by resisting.

The case in point: A 55- year-old stepfather is in the 16th day of a hunger strike in the infamous City Plaza, and he plans to continue until the state attorney general reviews the surveillance tape of his stepson's arrest. The man had been ejected from a casino for being intoxicated, clearly a criminal offense.

His stepfather wants to challenge what the police describe as " a few distraction blows with batons and also using a carotid choke hold until the man passed out," needed to overcome his continuing resistance. Whose fault was that?

Sue Hilderbrand of the Peace and Justice Center, exercising a legitimate function of the group, has also asked the state attorney general to intervene, because she is concerned for the stepfather's health. Classy and compassionate.

As to the drunken criminal, I suspect he got what he deserved.