Be a Turkish police officer, not a Texas sheriff!

In Turkey, someone who is not satisfied with your driving while you are on the road can rain bullets on your vehicle and cause your death. 

They don't like your driving, so they pull the trigger…

And it's not a road rage maniac, but a police officer carrying a licensed weapon on their waist who is pulling the trigger! 

Because they are a police officer, they think they have the right to shoot under any circumstances. 

Moreover, they are not on duty, they haven't given a stop signal, they are driving in traffic in their private vehicle just like you… But because they are a police officer, if they get annoyed, they can even fire bullets at you from their private vehicle!

Unfortunately, those who are police officers feel privileged. Are you aware of how often we encounter such cases lately? 

Those over a certain age will remember well; we used to have fatherly police uncles and commissioners we trusted. Now, everyone is afraid of these young, inexperienced police officers because they see themselves as being above the public. 

The other day, Turgut Soydemir, one of the famous architects raised by Turkey, was murdered in traffic for the reasons I described above. He bid farewell to life because an off-duty police officer opened fire on his vehicle. 

The police officer surrendered with his weapon. His initial statement was published in the newspapers. This is the most terrifying part. In his statement to the prosecutor's office, the police officer says exactly this: "The victim did not give way to the ambulance in the traffic moving on the bridge and afterwards, he was driving by weaving through traffic, and because he did not stop, I fired at him."

Even if we assume he is telling the truth. What kind of state of mind is it to rain bullets on someone because of a traffic violation? Who gave you this authority? Moreover, the man was old enough to be your grandfather. The man you shot was 86 years old; perhaps he got flustered in traffic or something else happened. According to allegations, there was an argument over giving way. Of course, we don't know the details of this for now; we hope it will emerge after the investigation. 

But I still cannot understand how he found the audacity to do this. 

I wondered what the necessary qualifications are to be a police officer today, and whether just anyone can become one? According to the POMEM Entrance Regulation, some of the conditions sought in candidates who will apply for entry to the institution are as follows;

Being a Turkish citizen, being a graduate of an undergraduate or associate degree program. Having received the base score or higher determined by the Ministry in the KPSS. In terms of health status, meeting the conditions determined in the Health Conditions Regulation, not having been involved in crimes against the security of the state, crimes against the constitutional order and the functioning of this order, embezzlement, extortion, bribery, theft, fraud, forgery, etc., even if the sentence has been pardoned or the announcement of the verdict has been deferred. Not having worked in a brothel, not having any ongoing judicial or administrative investigation or prosecution due to drugs or stimulants. Submitting a written declaration that one is not a member of any political party or its sub-organizations, not having received or receiving treatment due to alcohol, drug, or stimulant use…

So, it doesn't seem that difficult… 

Getting into a good university and becoming an architect is harder. Even graduating and becoming a famous architect is hard, but being shot and killed in traffic by a police officer who isn't even on duty is easy…

The conditions for becoming a police officer need to be made a bit more difficult, and what it means to be a man of the law needs to be explained better. Furthermore, there is another issue as important as psychologically conditioning these young people to be men of the law. These police officers, who are struggling to make a living with an average salary of 50 thousand TL, are also experiencing financial difficulties like other citizens. But because they have a gun on their waist, they feel privileged. And when they get angry, they pull the trigger. 

Even the night watchmen walk around the streets with an air of "I created the small worlds." It needs to be well explained that they should be a harbor to take refuge in, not a law enforcement force that people have to fear instead of trust. 

The Turkish police are known for being fatherly, like Hulusi Kentmen whom we see in Yeşilçam movies, not like a Texas sheriff.