Friends, Critics Dispute Arizona Sheriff's Remarks

By Jana Winter
January 10, 2011
FoxNews.com

Just hours after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat, was shot in the head by a crazed gunman, Pima County Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik -- addressing the media for the first time -- made headlines for saying that “vitriolic political rhetoric” heard on the radio and TV caused Jared Loughman to go on a bloody killing spree that left six dead and 14 wounded.

"When the rhetoric about hatred, about mistrust of government, about paranoia of how government operates, and to try to inflame the public on a daily basis, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it has impact on people especially who are unbalanced personalities," Dupniks said Saturday night.

The sheriff, a Democrat who has served as the county's top cop for 31 years, angered many with the remarks -- including some of his friends, who felt his editorializing had no part in a news conference, typically reserved for impersonal facts and details. the rest 

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THERE ARE NO POLITICS IN MURDER
...Neither the left nor the right should confuse political terrorism with the random insanity of a crazed gunman. The attack on Giffords had as little to do with ideology as the attack on the students of Virginia Tech or Columbine High School...