Jul 282015
 

Every time cops commit another horrific act, the “thin blue line crowd” crawls out of the woodwork claiming that we need to have unquestioning support for cops: all cops, all the time, no matter the circumstances.  I thoroughly disagree, as does the following author.

0728cops‘Don’t want to get hurt by police? Don’t break the law.’ Tis a common phrase among those who unquestioningly support law enforcement regardless of their proven track record of corruption and misconduct.

Sadly the apologists are nearly as dangerous as the corrupt and abusive officers as they advocate for blind support of the badge. Many times, apologists will support censorship, become brutal, and even hold fundraisers for cops who shoot unarmed people in the back!

The badge and uniform are infallible in the blind eyes of those who are too afraid to question authority. Police kill, we are told, because they have to make it home to their families at night. Police only harm those guilty of a crime….if you don’t want to get shot by police, don’t break the law they say.

Such asininity is unparalleled. However, it still doesn’t stop the apologists from pasting some derivative of the Gene Wilder meme all over the internet every time a cop is caught smashing in some innocent person’s face.

In an attempt to break through to the apologist crowd, we have gathered 30 stories from our archives of examples in which police hurt innocent people, who never broke the law. Tragically, some of those hurt or killed were children; some were even disabled and mentally ill.

Jonathan Sanders had broken no law before he was chased down by a Mississippi cop who threw him to the ground and strangled him to death in front of family members.

Esmeralda Rossi was getting into the shower when two Arizona cops illegally entered her home, pulled her towel off, assaulted and arrested her as she screamed in horror — completely naked. Rossi had broken no law.

Eric Wilson was on his way home from his job at Lighthouse for the Blind when he was stopped by two Little Rock Police officers alleging he “fit the description” of a suspect. The fact that Wilson is legally blind did not stop these officers from assaulting a man who could not even see them…

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I have shared only three of the stories.  Click through for the other twenty seven.

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  14 Responses to “Unquestioning Support for Cops”

  1. Even apart from the fact that many of the people cited in this article were children, or unconscious, or asleep, or otherwise completely docile – in fact I gather ALL were completely docile and any police testimony to the contrary is flat out lies – NOWHERE in the laws of ANY STATE OR TERRITORY does it state that a bad-ass attitude is punishable by summary execution without trial.

    Bad ass attitudes don't contribute to police brutality (although the opposite may be true – widespread police brutality may well contribute to ordinary citizens developing bad-ass attitudes through justified rage).  Not long ago we saw a group of visiting Swedish police officers subdue an altercation in a New York City subway with nary a gun and nary an impolite word, although with a lot of consideration for the welfare of those immobilized.  If they can do it (and not even in their own first language), why can't we do it?  Is true American exceptionalism rooted in steroid abuse?

    It wasn't, I think. on the story of Paul Castaway but another involving Denver, that one of Care2's resident trolls posted the asinine statement "Police have no obligation to protect and serve." I looked up the Denver Police Department's motto and discovered, as I expected that it was "Protect and Serve, " but also, as I didn't expect, it was changed in 2013. It was changed to "Everyone Matters." Gee, how's that working out for them?

    I did see the story of Charly Keunang on Daily Kos.  And I don't know what to say.

  2. The people who support cops unquestioningly fall in the same category for me as people who support GOP/Israel/religion/… unquestioningly: not to bright and fond of following other sheeple. The keyword here is "unquestioningly", it means you've found your brain's OFF button.

  3. I can't support all cops all the time. No apology forthcoming from me for my position either.

  4. Not all cops are bad, but those who are need to be held to punishment for their acts, not defended because they are cops.

  5. I don't think that it is just up to the public to raise an outcry to stop these bad (what an inadequate word!) cops – but it is also up to the good cops in the police departments.  Can't they see that the bad apples in the barrel are destroying the good work that they do?  Their reluctance to take on board any criticism or to admit incontravertible evidence seems evidence of an very worrying 'us against them' mentality – and policing should be performed with the consent of the populace, or it turns into a tyranny very quickly.

    Sorry TC, couldn't click through for the article, I knew how depressed and despairing it would make me – Heaven help the victims and their families and friends.

     

     

  6. Police officers are no different than anyone else . . . they are not infallible and they make plenty of mistakes.  Like everyone else, they need to be accountable for their actions . . . no free "get out of jail card".  And citizens need to be able to trust police.  Right now, in the current climate in the US, that isn't going to happen.  There is definitely white privledge in the country.  I think it is fair to say that there is also cop privledge too often that stands in the way of "To Serve and Protect".

  7. Thanks all.  I fully agree than not all cops are bad.  In fact, I think most are just there to do their jobs.  However almost all cops do close ranks to support the ones that do abuse their power and commit crimes.  In my view, that makes the good ones also culpable for the criminal acts of the bad ones.

  8. http://www.nationofchange.org/2015/07/29/11-people-dead-in-police-custody-this-month/
    11 People Dead in Police Custody This Month

    and Daily Kos reports that a police officer was indicted for murder in Cincinatti

    • 11 dead in police custody this month and the month isn't over yet!  To paraphrase a line from a song "How many deaths will it take before police are held accountable?" — Totally disgusting!

      The indictment of the Cincinatti officer was all over our news today.  This is good news but it remains to be seen how the trial will turn out.

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