Why do people insist on driving in the wrong lane?

I couldn't agree more, Ike; there has been plenty of evidence in recent years that police officers aren't immune to human nature. Here in Mississippi, there have also been recent scandals, though usually on a smaller scale (such as one creep who allegedly intimidated a 14-year-old girl into performing sexual favors for him). But I suppose the analogy that comes to mind is the Roman Catholic priesthood; we know that in some archdioceses as many as 10% of priests have been accused of child molestation, but what kind of jerk would walk up to the first Roman collar he sees and call him a pedophile? When people in high-risk or high-sacrifice occupations have to deal with social stigma too, that only makes things more difficult for the honest majority.

I wouldn't tell kaji or anyone else to trust all police officers just because they're police officers (heck, I'd probably lawyer up if I were ever arrested), but I think it bears remembering that these folks are human beings, the vast majority of them are decent human beings, they're in an essential and very dangerous line of work, and they deserve a certain amount of respect for choosing to do what they do. I think you and I are on the same page on this. I can understand how others might feel differently, but not, here again, what would provoke anybody to walk up and insult a total stranger for wearing a badge. Not when somebody has to wear a badge.


Cheers,

 

A few corrections.

Rodney King was not beaten by the Los Angeles Police. Those officers acted exactly as they were trained, and the city turned on them when the charges were brought forth. The PR-24 baton was standard LAPD issue until the whole Rodney King incident. Now, the PR-24 is verboten in the LAPD. Coincidence?

I have to plead ignorance here, as I'm not familiar with that case. I am, however, pretty certain that there was a female jogger in Central Park that was brutally raped & beaten. It introduced "wilding" into our vocabulary.

You forgot to mention that the "another officer" was in fact off-duty at the time, identified himself as a police officer, and ordered the undercover officer to drop his weapon. The undercover officer responded (in violation of policy) by pointing his gun at the off-duty officer. A tragedy that had nothing to do with race.

No excuses. The pieces of crap who did that deserve every day of jail time they got, and then some.

Again, you fail to tell the whole story. The NYPD officers made contact with him because he exactly fit the description of someone who was wanted for a violent felony. He refused to follow the officer's instructions, and even made furtive movements when told to stand still. If he did what the police told him to do, he'd be alive today. Another tragedy that has nothing to do with race.

Another plea of ignorance, since I don't know what you're talking about.

Of course, you're referring to the Stuart case (it was 1989). You just stepped into a steaming pile of crap, because I actually worked on that investigation.

For those not familiar with the case, it went like this....a white couple who are expecting their first child are attending child-birth classes at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston. Charles Stuart is a seemingly successful manager of a fur store (Kakas Furs) in Boston. His wife, Carol (DiMaiti) Stuart is an up-and-coming lawyer in Boston.

Charles decides, for reasons known only to himself, that he should kill his wife and unborn child for the insurance money. Long story short, Charles shoots his wife in the head, and then shoots himself in the torso to provide an alibi. Charles gave a story to police that a black male robber entered their car and shot them. This resulted in Boston law enforcement agencies scouring the area for someone who fit Charles's description.

Now, if anyone is even somewhat familiar with the area around Brigham & Women's Hospital, they'd know that it is the heart of Roxbury, a Boston suburb that is primarily black. There are 2 public housing projects nearby (Mission Hill and Bromley-Heath) that consist of primarily black tenants.

The fact that Charles Stuart described his imaginary assailant as a black male not only made sense, given the geographics of the neighborhood, but a description of a white male would have raised immediate suspicion flags, since so few white males were/are seen in the area of the Mission Hill projects.[/QUOTE]

8. The killing of an unarmed black motorist in Detroit in 1996.[/QUOTE]

Once again, my recollection is sketchy. However, I want to say that there was MUCH more to the story.

9. Countless conviction of black men that were based on fabricated evidence and these people have since been freed because of DNA tests that proved they are innocent.
10. The use of law enforcement to silence civil rights activists
11. And so on and so forth....... [/QUOTE]

Please provide proof of the above allegations.


Bruce