Police Ala Carte Blanche
Has anyone noticed the increasing irresponsibility that is being displayed by police officers across the country? It seems that ever since 9-11-2001, when we lauded the performance and sacrifice of the NYPD and the NYFD, there has been a growing attitude amongst some police officers across the country, that they can do no wrong, and if they do step out of line, they will escape punishment, because they are, "heroes". In Louisiana, we have an officer who used his tazer 9 times on a suspect in custody and handcuffs. The medical examiner states that the 21 year old was most likely dead after the first 7 tazes. The police claim the young man to have had asthma and had taken drugs as well. The autopsy showed no signs of asthma, and his blood was negative for drugs. The officer has been charged with manslaughter and I am hoping that he faces charges in a court of law and not a police review board, which tends to justify all actions of police officers by excusing them on the basis that, "the officer feared for his life."
Here in Phoenix, this week, a young teenager, in a crosswalk headed back to school, was run down by an officer in a police sedan, running full lights and siren. The boy is in the hospital with his legs broken in several places, and I hope that he will recover quickly and fully, as young people have that potential to do so. It's hard to tell from a report in the local paper exactly what happened, but the officer was responding to a call on 115th ave and the boy was struck at 35th ave. That's a long haul, and I'm surprised that there were not officers closer to the 115th ave location to respond to the call. Even so, hauling through an intersection, with lights and siren, does not give officers the right to take out unfortunate pedestrians who could not vacate the crosswalk! The officer is reported to be on administrative leave, which is not much of a punishment as he will still receive pay and most likely be cleared of any charges by an internal review board. How about, at the very least, reckless driving? How about , "failure to yield to pedestrian in a crosswalk"? Maybe even, "failure to control the vehicle to prevent an accident".
I think today's police officers ought to experience kinder, more gentle times and return to the use of bicycles and billy clubs, especially if they use tazers like instruments of death and drive like they are above the laws they were hired to enforce.
Society's laws are meant to maintain harmony and safety for all citizens. Ignoring the laws, or, "ignorance of the law", is still inexcusable and should be prosecuted in a court of law, regardless of one's status in society.
Here in Phoenix, this week, a young teenager, in a crosswalk headed back to school, was run down by an officer in a police sedan, running full lights and siren. The boy is in the hospital with his legs broken in several places, and I hope that he will recover quickly and fully, as young people have that potential to do so. It's hard to tell from a report in the local paper exactly what happened, but the officer was responding to a call on 115th ave and the boy was struck at 35th ave. That's a long haul, and I'm surprised that there were not officers closer to the 115th ave location to respond to the call. Even so, hauling through an intersection, with lights and siren, does not give officers the right to take out unfortunate pedestrians who could not vacate the crosswalk! The officer is reported to be on administrative leave, which is not much of a punishment as he will still receive pay and most likely be cleared of any charges by an internal review board. How about, at the very least, reckless driving? How about , "failure to yield to pedestrian in a crosswalk"? Maybe even, "failure to control the vehicle to prevent an accident".
I think today's police officers ought to experience kinder, more gentle times and return to the use of bicycles and billy clubs, especially if they use tazers like instruments of death and drive like they are above the laws they were hired to enforce.
Society's laws are meant to maintain harmony and safety for all citizens. Ignoring the laws, or, "ignorance of the law", is still inexcusable and should be prosecuted in a court of law, regardless of one's status in society.
posted by suzie at 2:06 AM
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