As we prepare to bury two more victims of violent crime – in this instance they happen to be police officers, we really need to come to grips with the circumstances that continue to perpetuate the cycle of violence. We need to understand that every Action will ultimately bring about (at some point) a Re-action. This is pretty much Standard Stuff; in some cases it is called revenge, in other instances, retribution – and there are numerous other tags, but they all mean the same thing. Having said that, re-actions are invariably never good. They are usually emotionally charged and even after the emotion has subsided, any factual support is all too often totally lacking.
In the present situation we have a young black man – Ismaaiyl Brinsley, apparently suffering from some level mental disorder, but obviously sufficiently enraged over the many (cop on young black men) killings that have occurred within the past 24 months. For whatever were his drivers he decided to Re Act, shooting and killing 2 NYC police officers. Ironically, the 2 police officers he shot were not white. The media – social and otherwise had a feeding frenzy yesterday – Sunday, 12/21/14 as they went about vilifying this now deceased black man, while heaping unlimited praise on all policemen, everywhere. Our leaders, who should know better – Rudy Guliannie, to name one, saw this as an opportunity to “politik” and ripped away at Bill deBlasio – NYC mayor, and Obama for creating a environment of hate for police officers, Really?? – couldn’t be that police officers did this all on their own; and of course , we all know that if a bear farts in the woods, it’s Obama’s fault.
Regardless, this is counter productive behavior; but even worse it -a) does not identify the root cause of the problem; b) it makes no attempt to provide a solution. Consequently, nothing positive results. The mourners held their candle light vigils – TV stations love this because they can shove microphones into the faces of these people (victims of another kind) and extract from them one demensional, tear filled outbursts of solidarity, calm, peace, etc. which drives up the stations’ ratings for that day. When the dust settles and this event becomes yesterday’s news, what are we left with? NOTHING!
What then is reality – are we mentally, morally and politically willing to face the truth. I think not but I’ll lay it out anyway. Our law enforcement system is broken – even worse, this broken system is supported by the judicial and executive branches of ALL State governments. It starts with the Blue Wall of Silence and goes downhill from there. Police Officers are regular/normal men and women. Last time I checked, they are not suddenly endowed with God like qualities (whatever that might be) the moment they take the oath. They remain Human Beings; as they were before the oath and certainly afterwards. However, our system feels compelled to condone, cover up, dismiss and in many instances lie about the transgressions that our police officers commit on a daily basis. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are many good, professional police officers out there – in fact, most are; but there’s also a rogue element, driven by internal prejudices, depression, frustration, rage and a host of other normal human traits, attributed to everyone else. In the same manner that “Joe Citizen” is held accountable and punished when frustration drives him/her to act outside the law; why then should a police officer NOT be held to the same standard. Two questions NEVER posed on any media interview – a) Do we or do we not have BAD cops; b) should they be identified for having committed a crime and punished. But sadly, this rarely occurs. The system rallys around these bad cops and support their continuance.
Let’s do a quick recap of the last 12 months and this is in no way complete – not even close. Not in chronological sequence – a) Cops shoot 14 year old kid 5 times; he had a toy gun in his hand; b) father of 2 young girls gunned down in Walmart for walking around with an unloaded BB gun he picked up from the floor; he was talking to his wife on the phone when shot 7 tmes by police officers; c) officers called by a destressed mother seeking assistance in calming her autistic son; cops enter and 5 minutes later shoots/kills the teen, with the words “… I don’t have time for this shit…” And we all know about Michael Brown in Ferguson; d) and of course Eric Garner – choked to death, by a police office, for selling cigarettes. A request for honesty – Who among us, having seen the infamous video of Eric being choked to death, can rationalize that the police officer – a) acted in self defense; b) was attempting to eliminate a threat to the lives of others; c) was in the process of executing, according to his oath of office – ” to Protect and Serve” the citizens of his community. It was a clear case of police power run amuck. And if our system refuses to identify these acts for what they are, hold the officers liable for their actions and punish them if found guilty, ultimately other citizens will Re-Act and what happenned in Brooklyn will be the result.
In all five (5) instances the victims were black and innocent of any crime that should warrent their death. Police acted with callous disregard for these peoples’ lives and shot them, or in the case of Garner, used excessive force, simply because Rules of Engagement affords them that latitude. What is even more startling is that I cannot recount this situation occurring when a white alleged perpetrator is involved – So, let’s examine that.
Is this because there a more black criminals than there are white? on an absolute basis the answer is No! Statistics clearly show that nationally, a larger percent of crime is committed by white perpetrators, compared to other single ethnic groups. This phenomenon is right up there with – the majority of drug dealers, users and people on welfare are “minorities” The reality is quite the opposite. The majority of drug dealers, users and people on welfare are in fact white. This should not be surprising since there are more whites across the nation, than there are blacks . However, police officers have a broad latitude in determining how much force is warranted in any given situation; and all too often, they are more lenient when dealing with white suspects; less so when dealing with other ethnic groups – and blacks sit at the top of that list. In fugitive, manhunt situations, if the fugitive is black, odds are, he will be killed on capture; if white, somehow that person will be taken alive – most recent on this is Eric Frein. It should be really hard to deny these fact/statistics however, the spin doctors do an excellent job of flooding the airwaves and other media with manipulated data and too many people simply gobble it up.
A cop with an attitude has no place on any police force. He/she should be identified, held accountable for his/her actions and, if no crime has been committed, discharged from the force. If a crime was committed, he should be charged as a citizen of the state and punished in accordance with the laws established. The Blue Wall of Silence should be struck down and ANYONE found adhering to this code of conduct should be punished, if not discharged. Police Officers should be encouraged to weed out those among them that are rogue and commended for their actions. And finally, judges, prosecutors and other law enforcement/judicial officials should be held to a standard of performance that prohibits them from capriciously disregarding hard evidence and ruling to the contrary in order to exhonorate a “bad” police officer.
These guidelines are achievable, except for the single biggest roadblock – POLITICS. Judges look to law enforcement for votes during elections, hence they will not “piss off” the establishment by taking a hard line on rogue cops. And, at the end of the day, corruption is really part of the fabric of law enforcement, consequently, the top of the food chain will most likely need that Blue Wall of Silence to protect him/her at some point in their career.
If we could only achieve these changes, across the board, we could look to the day when Protect and Serve would be the norm, not just a phrase painted on the side of a police vehicle, replacing what we currently have, all too often – “.. you will do as I say, always and without question otherwise, I will stomp on you …”
Regardless, this is counter productive behavior; but even worse it -a) does not identify the root cause of the problem; b) it makes no attempt to provide a solution. Consequently, nothing positive results. The mourners held their candle light vigils – TV stations love this because they can shove microphones into the faces of these people (victims of another kind) and extract from them one demensional, tear filled outbursts of solidarity, calm, peace, etc. which drives up the stations’ ratings for that day. When the dust settles and this event becomes yesterday’s news, what are we left with? NOTHING!
What then is reality – are we mentally, morally and politically willing to face the truth. I think not but I’ll lay it out anyway. Our law enforcement system is broken – even worse, this broken system is supported by the judicial and executive branches of ALL State governments. It starts with the Blue Wall of Silence and goes downhill from there. Police Officers are regular/normal men and women. Last time I checked, they are not suddenly endowed with God like qualities (whatever that might be) the moment they take the oath. They remain Human Beings; as they were before the oath and certainly afterwards. However, our system feels compelled to condone, cover up, dismiss and in many instances lie about the transgressions that our police officers commit on a daily basis. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are many good, professional police officers out there – in fact, most are; but there’s also a rogue element, driven by internal prejudices, depression, frustration, rage and a host of other normal human traits, attributed to everyone else. In the same manner that “Joe Citizen” is held accountable and punished when frustration drives him/her to act outside the law; why then should a police officer NOT be held to the same standard. Two questions NEVER posed on any media interview – a) Do we or do we not have BAD cops; b) should they be identified for having committed a crime and punished. But sadly, this rarely occurs. The system rallys around these bad cops and support their continuance.
Let’s do a quick recap of the last 12 months and this is in no way complete – not even close. Not in chronological sequence – a) Cops shoot 14 year old kid 5 times; he had a toy gun in his hand; b) father of 2 young girls gunned down in Walmart for walking around with an unloaded BB gun he picked up from the floor; he was talking to his wife on the phone when shot 7 tmes by police officers; c) officers called by a destressed mother seeking assistance in calming her autistic son; cops enter and 5 minutes later shoots/kills the teen, with the words “… I don’t have time for this shit…” And we all know about Michael Brown in Ferguson; d) and of course Eric Garner – choked to death, by a police office, for selling cigarettes. A request for honesty – Who among us, having seen the infamous video of Eric being choked to death, can rationalize that the police officer – a) acted in self defense; b) was attempting to eliminate a threat to the lives of others; c) was in the process of executing, according to his oath of office – ” to Protect and Serve” the citizens of his community. It was a clear case of police power run amuck. And if our system refuses to identify these acts for what they are, hold the officers liable for their actions and punish them if found guilty, ultimately other citizens will Re-Act and what happenned in Brooklyn will be the result.
In all five (5) instances the victims were black and innocent of any crime that should warrent their death. Police acted with callous disregard for these peoples’ lives and shot them, or in the case of Garner, used excessive force, simply because Rules of Engagement affords them that latitude. What is even more startling is that I cannot recount this situation occurring when a white alleged perpetrator is involved – So, let’s examine that.
Is this because there a more black criminals than there are white? on an absolute basis the answer is No! Statistics clearly show that nationally, a larger percent of crime is committed by white perpetrators, compared to other single ethnic groups. This phenomenon is right up there with – the majority of drug dealers, users and people on welfare are “minorities” The reality is quite the opposite. The majority of drug dealers, users and people on welfare are in fact white. This should not be surprising since there are more whites across the nation, than there are blacks . However, police officers have a broad latitude in determining how much force is warranted in any given situation; and all too often, they are more lenient when dealing with white suspects; less so when dealing with other ethnic groups – and blacks sit at the top of that list. In fugitive, manhunt situations, if the fugitive is black, odds are, he will be killed on capture; if white, somehow that person will be taken alive – most recent on this is Eric Frein. It should be really hard to deny these fact/statistics however, the spin doctors do an excellent job of flooding the airwaves and other media with manipulated data and too many people simply gobble it up.
A cop with an attitude has no place on any police force. He/she should be identified, held accountable for his/her actions and, if no crime has been committed, discharged from the force. If a crime was committed, he should be charged as a citizen of the state and punished in accordance with the laws established. The Blue Wall of Silence should be struck down and ANYONE found adhering to this code of conduct should be punished, if not discharged. Police Officers should be encouraged to weed out those among them that are rogue and commended for their actions. And finally, judges, prosecutors and other law enforcement/judicial officials should be held to a standard of performance that prohibits them from capriciously disregarding hard evidence and ruling to the contrary in order to exhonorate a “bad” police officer.
These guidelines are achievable, except for the single biggest roadblock – POLITICS. Judges look to law enforcement for votes during elections, hence they will not “piss off” the establishment by taking a hard line on rogue cops. And, at the end of the day, corruption is really part of the fabric of law enforcement, consequently, the top of the food chain will most likely need that Blue Wall of Silence to protect him/her at some point in their career.
If we could only achieve these changes, across the board, we could look to the day when Protect and Serve would be the norm, not just a phrase painted on the side of a police vehicle, replacing what we currently have, all too often – “.. you will do as I say, always and without question otherwise, I will stomp on you …”
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