I just heard that they finally arrested the cop who murdered Oscar Grant on New Year's Day. Grant, if you haven't been following the story, was a 22-year-old unarmed black kid (with a 4-year-old daughter at home) who was shot in the back by a white police officer while being restrained face-down on a San Francisco subway platform. Because it was a holiday, there were tons of bystanders in the train station to capture the event on film with cell phones and cameras, which the police reportedly began trying to confiscate as "evidence." A few witnesses, though, were able to escape onto departing trains with their footage intact. If you've got the stomach for it, you can see the videos here. They are as appalling as you might imagine.
What's the deal with these little boys (and some girls, yes, but let's be real: mostly boys) running around with guns and unchecked power? I mean, I know police violence is far from the norm -- but police officers acting like jerks is certainly not uncommon, and doesn't it seem logical that one could lead to the other? Back when I was working for the battered women's program, it would make my skin crawl to see cops at our events, knowing from my work on the hotline that more than a couple of the members of the local force were actively engaged in beating the shit out of their wives.
I know there are nice cops. I met one just the other day -- he followed me on my way to the gym so that he could politely tell me that my license plates were expired and politely ask me to fork over $98. I'm not stating my support for a police-free state; I'm not calling for anarchy. I'd just like to not have to keep seeing stories like the one above. And when the worst does happen, when some untrained asshole decides to play Rambo, I'd like to feel confident that there will be repercussions.
Maybe this arrest will be a step in the right direction? I guess we'll see.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
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4 comments:
Ugh. This case just makes me sick, not only for its own shitty situation, but because the story is so old, the instances like this so numerous.
I am, however, encouraged that this cop is being charged with murder. Not just investigated and then put on leave...
Wow, I didn't know about that story. Not that I try to stick my head in the sand, but really I had no clue.
I feel sick.
Justice better be served.
It happens in New Orleans quite a bit. There was a story in the news this week about a kid who was shot by cops while sitting in his car in front of his grandma's house. It was 3 a.m. and he was waiting for his friend to come over so they could go to a club. The kid allegedly shot at the officers. The comments on the online news story were also just horrible -- blaming the kid for having a gun, etc., but he lives in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country. So sad.
It comes from the top down. The new idea of policing the "masses" is control by force. They are no longer "Peace Officers" they are storm troopers.
My grandfather was in police work(local and county) for 30 years and only had to draw his gun three times and never had to fire his weapon.
We have to re-learn how to respect everyone in society only then will these things stop happening.
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