Instant news = instant forgetfulness
By the time police and sheriffs were fully deployed around the cabin where Christopher Dorner's life ended, every single location television station that does news, was covering it live. I checked.
Almost every one of those stations did wire to wire coverage of the funeral of Michael Crain, the Riverside PD officer that Dorner allegedly murdered. It was a very moving and poignant service.
LAPD Chief Beck wants to re-examine the allegations that Dorner made regarding his training officer, and about racism within the department.
A month from now, this will be all but forgotten by most people. Some other sensational story will have grabbed the headlines. No one outside of those personally touched by Dorner's rampage will recall the names of his victims. The wounded, the murdered and their families will remember. They will never forget.
Now not every cop who wears the badge of the Los Angeles Police Department is a racist. That's a given. But it is also a given that there are racists who wear that shield and abuse the power they believe it gives them. Racial profiling. Selective prosecution. Ever hear the acronym NHI? It's police jargon for "No Humans Involved", a phrase that racist cops often use to describe incidents involving the minorities they are bigoted against.
What is even more frightening is that those cops who aren't racist will not step up and speak out when they observe the actions of those who are. The 'thin blue line' is strong. It's not surprising. When you're willing to speak out against your 'brother officers', you are no longer to be trusted or depended upon. When you're in a tight spot and call for back-up, no one will respond. No one wants to risk themselves on your behalf. One need only review what happened to Frank Serpico when he tried to expose corruption among NYDP officers. He was shot and nearly died.
Let's be realistic. With all the flaws that local police agencies in the U.S. have, most are probably better than many of their counterparts around the world. I watched South Korean riot police firing tear gas cannisters directly at student protestors who were engaged in peaceful demonstrations. I saw them beating students with billy clubs. My photos of those events 'disappeared' when I was dumb enough to let a local camera shop develop them. If you get pulled over for a DUI or other serious traffic infraction in Moscow, slip enough rubles in-between your driver license and registration and you'll drive away with just a warning and a smile. Bribes, baksheesh, whatever label you choose to use, cops in many nations are far more corrupt than those here in the good old USA.
We should be vigilant. Juvenal wrote "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" Who will guard the guards themselves? It is a fitting question, when we're being told that there wasn't a deliberate attempt to burn down the cabin where Dorner was hiding. If that wasn't the intent, why was an incendiary tear gas cannister shot into the cabin? Were the lessons of Waco not learned?
Civilian oversight of the military isn't questioned. Nor should civilian oversight of the police. Let the questions that this tragic series of events, promulgated by a paranoid man, not serve at least some useful purpose. Don't let this be forgotten. Don't let the LAPD's racists slip back into the prior patterns. Speak up.
Almost every one of those stations did wire to wire coverage of the funeral of Michael Crain, the Riverside PD officer that Dorner allegedly murdered. It was a very moving and poignant service.
LAPD Chief Beck wants to re-examine the allegations that Dorner made regarding his training officer, and about racism within the department.
A month from now, this will be all but forgotten by most people. Some other sensational story will have grabbed the headlines. No one outside of those personally touched by Dorner's rampage will recall the names of his victims. The wounded, the murdered and their families will remember. They will never forget.
Now not every cop who wears the badge of the Los Angeles Police Department is a racist. That's a given. But it is also a given that there are racists who wear that shield and abuse the power they believe it gives them. Racial profiling. Selective prosecution. Ever hear the acronym NHI? It's police jargon for "No Humans Involved", a phrase that racist cops often use to describe incidents involving the minorities they are bigoted against.
What is even more frightening is that those cops who aren't racist will not step up and speak out when they observe the actions of those who are. The 'thin blue line' is strong. It's not surprising. When you're willing to speak out against your 'brother officers', you are no longer to be trusted or depended upon. When you're in a tight spot and call for back-up, no one will respond. No one wants to risk themselves on your behalf. One need only review what happened to Frank Serpico when he tried to expose corruption among NYDP officers. He was shot and nearly died.
Let's be realistic. With all the flaws that local police agencies in the U.S. have, most are probably better than many of their counterparts around the world. I watched South Korean riot police firing tear gas cannisters directly at student protestors who were engaged in peaceful demonstrations. I saw them beating students with billy clubs. My photos of those events 'disappeared' when I was dumb enough to let a local camera shop develop them. If you get pulled over for a DUI or other serious traffic infraction in Moscow, slip enough rubles in-between your driver license and registration and you'll drive away with just a warning and a smile. Bribes, baksheesh, whatever label you choose to use, cops in many nations are far more corrupt than those here in the good old USA.
We should be vigilant. Juvenal wrote "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" Who will guard the guards themselves? It is a fitting question, when we're being told that there wasn't a deliberate attempt to burn down the cabin where Dorner was hiding. If that wasn't the intent, why was an incendiary tear gas cannister shot into the cabin? Were the lessons of Waco not learned?
Civilian oversight of the military isn't questioned. Nor should civilian oversight of the police. Let the questions that this tragic series of events, promulgated by a paranoid man, not serve at least some useful purpose. Don't let this be forgotten. Don't let the LAPD's racists slip back into the prior patterns. Speak up.
posted by me at 8:47 PM
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