----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2003 6:24
PM
Subject: [Mpls] Police Brutality
Ten months ago, we were going through a similar debate when two Mpls
police officers were accused of urinating on a Native
American. When he was brought to the hospital by
another squad, the ER doctor attending the inebriated 'victim' swore
he did not smell any urine on the 'victim' (and believe me, it would smell
esp. from someone drinking a quantity of alcohol). The 'offending'
officers came forward after seeing their call described on the 6 o'clock news
(they had not been id's at that point) and stated they had not done this and
in fact, insisted tests be done on the 'victim's clothes to prove their
innocence. Since the 'victim' couldn't remember anything and his female
companion was unknown and gone from the scene, the only thing left to
prove yeah or nay was physical (drat).
Guess what, guys. The only DNA found on the victim's clothes was
his own. The officers had done what they stated they did; they gave the
'victim' and his female companion a ride home because they couldn't
navigate the way by themselves. I have yet to hear anyone here apologize
to the officers who were falsely accused or are we going to hear conspiracy
theories on this case, too. By the way, if anyone gives a rat's patoot,
one of those officers recently got back from active duty in Iraq. But he
probably doesn't live in the city, so therefore, he's an uncaring thug who
doesn't deserve our appreciation.
Cops do not always get off. There have been several officers fired
and prosecuted in the past few years. Many more have received days off
without pay (which also means they cannot work during that time in an off-duty
status which is in any way police related). Often, this results in
larger financial losses than most felons get nailed with (and probably many
white collar crooks who declare bankruptcy or have all their property
off-shore).
Being a police officer is not a popularity contest. The nature of
the job means that usually someone is not going to be happy. Many
people, amazingly enough since we have a brand new county jail, still don't
want to go there. They get down right nasty when they
get caught doing something wrong. Police have a duty to arrest and
take people into custody for breaking the laws that we, as a society, have
made. Often, in order to do this, they need to use force, sometimes even
deadly force. This IS NOT police brutality.
It is also not police brutality when an officer orders someone to do
something (raise your hands, get out of the car, etc). I found
out early in my career that "Excuse me madam or sir, but would you mind
dropping that gun?" just didn't cut it (although it may have good
for a laugh later on, assuming I lived until later on).
When people consider cop-killers victims of police brutality (i.e. Martha
Donald) I have trouble respecting their viewpoints. Donald may
have been a victim of many things, but police brutality was not one of
them. If anything, a good person and a good police officer lost
her life because she had the humanity to take Donald to the bathroom to
relieve herself and save her the indignity of soiling herself. For this,
she lost her life and took Donald's life in the process. If Donald had
lived to exit that bathroom, how many others might she have killed before she
ran out of bullets? Since there were six bullets in her gun, the
argument could be made that Michelle saved five innocent lives while
giving her own.
There are some officers who should never have been given a
badge. There are some officers who are racists. There are
some officers who seem to get a kick out of hurting people or cannot control
their tempers and have no business in the uniform. Nobody wants to get
rid of these people more than the good officers who have to work with these
bad apples. And by the way, not all of these officers are wearing Mpls
uniforms and Mpls doesn't have control over all police officers in the
state. But when officers are accused of conduct for which they are not
guilty, then they deserve to have their innocence acknowledged as loudly and
as publicly as the accusations were made. the public also deserves
an apology, because false allegations against our officials hurt the whole
community and undermines peoples trust.
It will never cease to amaze me that the very people who demand respect
and accuse others of violating someone's civil rights, are the same
people who think nothing of depriving a whole section of our society, namely
police officers, of their civil rights and respect. If these
people are truly interested in
fair and equal treatment for all, they need to recognize that mistakes
can be made and admit they judged too quickly. I don't see that
happening because it would not fit into their agendas. Also, you don't
get publicity for saying you're sorry.
Anne McCandless
Jordan
