What Dyna and others who criticize Communities United Against Police Brutality apparently fail to understand is that when an organization has a mission such as CUAPB's, they are required to respond to all charges of police brutality, whether they come from a parent whose kid got knocked around, someone who suffers from a mental illness or a "six-time loser."
I would strongly encourage folks to visit CUAPB's web site to learn about just what it is they do: http://www.charityadvantage.com/CUAPB/HomePage.asp Most of their work revolves around responding to claims. Someone calls CUAPB and says they got knocked around and they go check into it. That's what happened with Stephen Porter. The fact that Porter has a police record is utterly and completely irrelevant with regards to the assault charges brought forth. If true, they are not any less horrifying because the victim was a drug dealer than if the victim was someone with no criminal history. Shocking as this may be to some, even previously-convicted criminals have the right not to get the crap beat out of them by the cops if they're not resisting arrest. Therefore, the claims made by Porter must be investigated just the same as if they were made by someone without a record. Attempts to minimize or discredit the claims made by Porter or others based on their criminal history is part of what allows police brutality to continue in this city. Those who cannot bring themselves to feel sympathy for victims of police brutality still have a reason to be concerned about it: Even with the relatively few claims that actually result in judgments, it's a significant drain on the city coffers. I think that's part of the point that Jim Mork was trying to make and I agree with him. I don't want my tax dollars going to pay out settlements to someone who got knocked around by the cops. I want cops to use the training they're supposed to have received on how to defuse volatile situations so we're not having this problem any more. Here's a possible solution: Is there anything that prevents the city from requiring that settlements in police brutality claims be paid out of the pension funds for retired MPD officers? Maybe when fellow officers start seeing how this conduct will affect their personal bottom lines, it might finally be enough to break the code of silence that protects the thumpers. Mark Snyder Windom Park REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
