More police brutality in the news, today, it seems.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the beleaguered Chicago Police Superintendent, Jody Weis, was given a vote of "no confidence" by almost 200 out of 11,000 cops under the rank of sergeant. A small, but mighty number to be sure.
The paper said morale was low and implied that perhaps he won't last more than a year on the job.
Ouch.
Brutal.
So it goes...
"On Friday in Seattle, the King County Sheriff’s Office released video showing a sheriff’s deputy kicking and throwing punches at a 15-year-old girl in police custody, after the deputy was charged with fourth-degree assault in the case and pleaded not guilty."
This is the opening quote from the NY Times blog, The Lede, from today, March 2. You can see the video here, as well.
She's 15.
It's horrifying.
On New Year's day, this year, in Oakland, CA, a kid named Oscar Grant was shot and killed in a crowded BART (subway) station. He was subdued and handcuffed before he was executed.
That's right, executed. Shot in the back. It's easy to find this video on You Tube, if you haven't seen it yet.
Also horrifying.
Just last week, Lorenzo Wiley (possibly drunk, probably mentally ill, likely cold in the dead of winter, and definitely not being aggressive) was verbally and physically assaulted on a CTA bus for not paying his fare (fair?).
The video shows the cop slamming the man's head into the bus window. He's also punched, and "challenged" to a fight.
Are you kidding me? Is all of this real? This is going from sublime to ridiculous. What is happening to us? Has this country gone so security crazy that now anyone with any type of "official capacity" is someone we should fear? For our lives? Should we worry about meter maids and crossing guards kicking our asses soon?
Yes, i know that civilized societies need laws and law enforcement. Yes, I know that being a cop means putting your own life on the line every day, dealing with the dregs of humanity up close and personally, something most people are not willing to do. And, yes, I know that, in fact, most (meaning the majority- here are the cops' props) officers are not bad cops and should be highly commended.
But there are enough bad cops out there. More than enough. Which of course means way too many. This is what fuels distrust and anger and a general lack of respect for the police. It's outrageous. It's wrong.
It's completely fascist, and out of control.
It's your own fault, too. No matter what you say or think, (what exactly do you think, Mayor Daley and Jody Weis?), you cannot convince me that the guy on the bus deserved to get his head smashed into the window.
Same goes for the 15 year old girl in Washington.
Same goes for Oscar Grant.
You all are on notice, and on camera. Don't forget who you work for.
So it goes...
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