No one will ever convict a police officer. Juries almost always believe that
anything happening in the custody of an officer or officers is the fault of
the accused, never of the officer.
And when juries do the rare thing - convict an officer - it's of a lesser
crime or the judge reverses it or an appeals court reverses it or the
Supreme Court reverses it.
People here and everywhere refuse to see police officers as even possibly
the same sort of dangerous individuals we call criminals, as if the uniform
creates something extra-human about them.
They are not, of course, but the system, either out of fear of undermining
law enforcement - or even fear of their personal safety should a cop get to
them - is set up to almost invariably acquit a cop.
When society decides that cops are as good or as bad as we expect all others
to be, we will address police abuse with the detachment and redress it
deserves.
These men and women are as capable of murder as anyone else and they are
free to act with impunity as it now stands.
Andy Driscoll
Saint Paul
--------
I (cannot) submit the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party
of men (and women) whatever in religion, in philosophy, in politics, or in
anything else where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction
is the last degradation of a free and moral agent.
--- Thomas Jefferson (updated)
> From: "V.L. Freeman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2002 08:56:55 -0800
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: [Mpls] Death of Minneapolis man in custody ruled a homicide
>
>
> It is with greater hope that this death of a human life, no matter what the
> circumstance, is taken not lightly. I would hope that the Urban League and
> leadership teams of the community, are invited to the table for mediation
> talks, for the sake of justice, and calmness.
>
> (star tribune)
> "Although not commenting about the Burns case, Sgt. Ron Ron Bellendier, who
> trains Minneapolis officers, said the lateral vascular neck restraint works
> well when done correctly. But he acknowledged that if a suspect is
> struggling, correct application can be difficult."
>
> source: 12-11-02,(http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/3522936.html)
>
> Then why continue this procedure if a person is struggling? It seems to me
> that if one is struggling under force, than more force would be applied to
> firmly restrain, which could cause deadly consequences.
>
> If these officers are found guilty, I would hope that they have their day in
> court and be tried and convicted, for the crime of murder. I must say
> however, that a few bad eggs can make the whole nest seem rotten to the
> core. But, we have to remember that there are some good officers that care
> about what happens in their place of employment and in their city. It is my
> hope that they would continue to do the best job they can to weed out the
> bad eggs in within their force.
>
> vanessa freeman
> hawthorne
>
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