-Caveat Lector- Needless Intimidation Rogue Cops And Illegal Laws By: Al Cronkrite
Was the killing of over eighty men, women, and children at Waco a result of vindictiveness in law enforcement? Man’s desire to retaliate is strong and active in those that enforce our laws. Consider the hundreds of police officers that turn up at funerals for fellow officers and the extra effort put forth when one of their own is slain. Some of it results in a win for the good guys but there is a dark side. From the school ground arena into and through adulthood, bullies are the recipients of scorn. The Waco massacre was accompanied by an arrogant impatience. There was never any excuse for an armed assault on the compound when time, itself, offered a perfect solution. Helicopters and tanks created an ugly incongruity and there is a good possibility that retaliatory shots were fired at women and children and that the structure was wantonly burned. The assault on Waco appears to have been vindictive. Policemen are public servants hired to enforce the law. It is a difficult task and they need our support. However, in the last several decades, great changes have taken place in the operating procedures used by policemen. Gone are the neighborhood cops that knew the people - good and bad - and enforced the law like a resident of the neighborhood. They have been replaced by a militant assortment of both men and women who regularly intimidate the public under the aegis of self protection. Treating law abiding citizens like criminals, traffic cops expect those they stop to relinquish their constitutional rights and submit to a personal bondage reserved for felons. Stay in the car -- Keep your hands on the steering wheel.-- Notify the officer if you have a weapon in the car -- Ask permission to find your license and registration. Break any of these rules and you are likely to find yourself surrounded by several armed policemen who can and will arrest you for resistance. Policemen have an inordinate amount of power. Your car can now be searched with nothing more than a suspicion of illegality. God forbid that your son may have left a joint in the ash tray. That joint can result in the confiscation of your automobile and any cash you may have in the vehicle or on your person. Don’t try the Constitution on the local judge. It is very improbably that he knows its contents or cares that it is upheld. He also gets a cut of the largess and is not likely to be on your side. Many law enforcement officers will stubbornly defend the right to confiscate the personal property of criminals, particularly if the property might have been acquired through illegal activity. Their argument sounds plausible until the Fourth Amendment to our Constitutional describes its illegal nature. Policemen usually know the legal code but few know the Constitution and, unfortunately, this often results in legal enforcement of illegal laws. Policemen regularly demean non violent citizens by placing them in hand cuffs. This procedure often takes place in front of family or close associates. You may remember Jim Bakker, the disgraced televangelist, being lead away handcuffed and weeping. More recently the children from the black church in Atlanta being violently removed from their families by law enforcement personnel. Non violent, tax paying, law abiding, citizens have a right to better treatment. Though it may be convenient and safer for policemen to treat everyone like hardened criminals, it is unconstitutional and tyrannical in practice. It is not the job of law enforcement to bully citizens. Blacks have complained for years about being singled out and stopped by law enforcement. It is an unspeakable truth that crime rates among blacks are substantially higher than the norm, however, being bullied by policemen cultivates animosity, not respect. The "us" and "them" attitude that is now common at both the Federal and local level combined with a coarsening of procedure is creating resentment and fear in the citizens of our Nation. The seizure of Elian in Miami was a brutal display of the disregard law enforcement officers have for citizens. As in most all current policing activity massive force was used with little regard for the Constitutional rights of the people involved. Though effective law enforcement is a necessary element in an orderly society, Americans need to guard their Fourth Amendment rights. Law enforcement that overrides the legal right to be innocent until proven guilty, assaults the security of persons, or robs them of their property is illegal law enforcement and should be categorized as such. Al Cronkrite is a free-lance writer from Ocala, Florida. He a is regular columnist for Ether Zone. Al Cronkrite can be reached at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Published in the February 19, 2002 issue of Ether Zone. Copyright © 1997 - 2002 Ether Zone. -end article- --------------- -InfoWarz "A government which will turn its tanks upon its people for ANY reason, is a government with a taste for blood and a thirst for power, and must be smartly rebuked, or blindly obeyed in deadly fear" -Jack Salter <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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