I have to say that I noticed this scandal because I take care of a jail.
And you can bet I don’t get confused about who’s the bad the guys and who’s the good guys.
Apparently in Baltimore, like Chicago–that’s not so easy to understand.
http://www.city-journal.org/printable.php?id=10199
both comments are excellent and passionate accounts of what i consider to be the problem. People who forget their oath.
It is unlikely that we will ever see police officers held accountable to the same laws they enforce. Even if there is irrefutable evidence, no prosecutor ever willingly pursues a cop. If he or she does, it will be their last case as a prosecutor. Cops take a very dim view of anyone who attempts to hold cops accountable… Same is true of government in general. The government is designed to force commoners to behave correctly. The ruling class need not worry about following the rules.
The COBR (corrections officer’s bill of rights) has an ugly twin sister called POBR (police officer’s bill of rights). Both reinforce the culture of the blue code of silence. In the state of California, POBR has resulted in suppression and omission of evidence in court cases of police brutality, such as the Kelly Thomas case.
In that case, the police officers that beat him to death had prior records within their personnel files, but the information wasn’t shared with the jury due to POBR. It’s also interesting that video tapes of the beating were initially lost, just like in the Maryland 2008 beating mentioned in the article.
There’s a pattern of abuse of power, excessive use of force, and coverup that is popping up in police and corrections forces all over the country.
As it was once said:
“If the broad light of day could be let in upon men’s actions, it would purify them as the sun disinfects.”
Our “public servants” need public scrutiny to keep them honest.
In a study of excessive force patterns in Oakland, they found that the police officers that shot and killed innocent citizens showed a pattern of abuse and excessive force leading up to the killing. Public disclosure of abuse complaints would help flag those individuals that have lost their way before the worst happens.