This is a cut and paste from an email I sent someone who works with cops. I am going to start dialing down my participation in current issues to focus on larger, longer term ones, but thought this might be worth sharing.
. . . it seems obvious to me that you are feeling embattled on this cop issue, and I thought I might share my two cents, in private. First off, I think the decision in Ferguson was just. I thought the verdict in the Rodney King was just. Anyone who actually knows the facts of these cases (most seeming do not) cannot argue otherwise.
But in the case of Eric Garner, SOMEONE should in my view have been fired. I don’t know if you know this, but the Officer in Charge was a black woman who did NOTHING to stop or alter the trajectory of the take-down. She would be the obvious candidate, but she was granted immunity in exchange for full cooperation. That adds a different racial charge to the whole thing, one which few talk about.
More generally, though, it is CLEAR that in at least some, perhaps extremely rare, cases, cops get away with major abuses of force, which are indefensible. This does not mean they should go to jail, but it does mean both that they should be fired, and that the public should SEE them getting fired. Cops are not doing themselves any favors protecting their own EVEN WHEN they KNOW they are guilty.
I got into a bit of a tiff with Matt at the Bang Switch. I messaged him a video of a cop breaking a guys window–when he was in a passenger seat and not even the driver was accused of a moving violation (she didn’t have her seatbelt on)–and pulling him out for not being able to provide an ID quick enough. Again, he was not the driver, and there were two kids in the back. This was in Hammond, Indiana, where they likely figure every black male has some sort of warrant on them.
The point I made was that this cop is teaching these people to FEAR, not trust the cops. The cops in theory exist for the protection of all, but when they do shit like that, they are violating the public trust. NOT ONE COP on that forum did anything but defend that cop and/or attack me. Do you see the problem? I worked for a police department and interfaced with cops on a daily basis for three years. I knew all the radio codes, all the violation codes, and spent perhaps a thousand hours listening to their Channel One traffic. I shared a locker room with them, and wore a uniform. I went to their line-ups. I have a pretty good idea how things work.
And the way they work is that their default position, no matter the provocation or alleged crime, is to protect their own. Always. Clearly, Internal Affairs does catch some, and the law catches up with more, but the culture is one of tolerating the assholes. I saw that as recently as that thread on Matt’s Facebook page (I messaged him, and he posted my message, which was fine.). I would encourage you to read this story, and just contemplate it. I refuse to participate in the racialization of this issue, but obviously will weigh in on the larger issues of justice and accountability.: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/08/what-i-did-after-police-killed-my-son-110038_Page2.html#ixzz3Kz3oQgex
. . . it seems obvious to me that you are feeling embattled on this cop issue, and I thought I might share my two cents, in private. First off, I think the decision in Ferguson was just. I thought the verdict in the Rodney King was just. Anyone who actually knows the facts of these cases (most seeming do not) cannot argue otherwise.
But in the case of Eric Garner, SOMEONE should in my view have been fired. I don’t know if you know this, but the Officer in Charge was a black woman who did NOTHING to stop or alter the trajectory of the take-down. She would be the obvious candidate, but she was granted immunity in exchange for full cooperation. That adds a different racial charge to the whole thing, one which few talk about.
More generally, though, it is CLEAR that in at least some, perhaps extremely rare, cases, cops get away with major abuses of force, which are indefensible. This does not mean they should go to jail, but it does mean both that they should be fired, and that the public should SEE them getting fired. Cops are not doing themselves any favors protecting their own EVEN WHEN they KNOW they are guilty.
I got into a bit of a tiff with Matt at the Bang Switch. I messaged him a video of a cop breaking a guys window–when he was in a passenger seat and not even the driver was accused of a moving violation (she didn’t have her seatbelt on)–and pulling him out for not being able to provide an ID quick enough. Again, he was not the driver, and there were two kids in the back. This was in Hammond, Indiana, where they likely figure every black male has some sort of warrant on them.
The point I made was that this cop is teaching these people to FEAR, not trust the cops. The cops in theory exist for the protection of all, but when they do shit like that, they are violating the public trust. NOT ONE COP on that forum did anything but defend that cop and/or attack me. Do you see the problem? I worked for a police department and interfaced with cops on a daily basis for three years. I knew all the radio codes, all the violation codes, and spent perhaps a thousand hours listening to their Channel One traffic. I shared a locker room with them, and wore a uniform. I went to their line-ups. I have a pretty good idea how things work.
And the way they work is that their default position, no matter the provocation or alleged crime, is to protect their own. Always. Clearly, Internal Affairs does catch some, and the law catches up with more, but the culture is one of tolerating the assholes. I saw that as recently as that thread on Matt’s Facebook page (I messaged him, and he posted my message, which was fine.). I would encourage you to read this story, and just contemplate it. I refuse to participate in the racialization of this issue, but obviously will weigh in on the larger issues of justice and accountability.: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/08/what-i-did-after-police-killed-my-son-110038_Page2.html#ixzz3Kz3oQgex
www.politico.com
I understand where you are coming from, and bear no animosity towards you. I would not want to be in your position. The reason for this message is that I think there is a place for nuance. I argued last week that cops were going to get killed because of all this, not just because of the propagandistic use being made of the racial divide certain unprincipled people have created and continue to abuse, but because it has opened up the issue of police abuse of power generally, which has to be seen in the context of NSA spying, SWAT teams proliferating like mushrooms (Did you know the Dept. of Agriculture has a SWAT team?), and, again, the belief even reasonable people will reach upon research that cops do sometimes get away with murder, and very little is being done about it.
Eric Garner did not deserve to DIE for selling cigarettes, and no one was fired or censured for it. It truly is like his life didn’t matter. And it’s not just race. Here is a white girl, killed by a cop who will face no consequences: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/09/samantha-ramsey_n_6123820.html
Eric Garner did not deserve to DIE for selling cigarettes, and no one was fired or censured for it. It truly is like his life didn’t matter. And it’s not just race. Here is a white girl, killed by a cop who will face no consequences: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/09/samantha-ramsey_n_6123820.html
