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Commentary: Police Codes and Politics

Those of us with October birthdays always get two gifts. One is that we often get gorgeous weather. The other is that each of us has a personal police radio code. Police codes, which are law enforcement shorthand for various incidents or situations, start with the number ten; so does our birth month.

  

The best known police code is 10-4, message acknowledged. There are 101 codes altogether. Some of them may or may not apply to the current political situation.

  • President Trump’s incessant and sometimes outrageous tweets? 10-3. Stop transmitting.
  • Congress on any given day? 10-10. Fight in progress.
  • The White House on any given. day? 10-16. Domestic problem.
  • Persons on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation list? Take your pick: 10-26. Detaining suspect. How about 10-29? Check for wanted. Or maybe 10-80. Chase in progress.
  • What Donald Trump did to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election? 10-45. Animal carcass in the road.
  • What do both Democrats and Republicans do for their campaigns? 10-87. Distribute checks.H
  • How do Democrats feel about the Trump administration? 10-31. Crime in progress. Or 10-35. Major crime alert. Or perhaps 10-51. Wrecker needed.
  • What do Democrats want to do to Trump? 10-42. Ending tour of duty.

But at the end of the day amidst all the turmoil and unrest, our Constitution and our strong institutions will keep us safe. So the response to 10-101 -- What’s the status? Is 10-106 – Status is secure.

Noah Taborda is a Sports Broadcasting Journalism major who hopped on the short flight from Chicago to hone his trade at the University of Missouri. He hopes to cover a meaningful moment or two in his future career.