Police
Abuse - Holding the Police Responsible for their Actions
Released on = December 3, 2006, 9:22 pm
Press Release Author = Valkyrie Publishing
Industry = Law
Press Release Summary = The law enformcement agencies are out of control; it is time
society takes their power back and hold the officers responisble for their actions.
Press Release Body = Police Abuse:
Holding the Police Responsible for Their Actions
By
Theresa Chaze
The police are no longer harbingers of service and protection, but are a power
driven force whose purpose is to intimate and humiliate the masses. Instead of good
will and support, they are breeding resentment and anger in those they swore to
protect. Increasingly civil rights are being whittled away and totally ignored by
the police. They claim their actions are justified in the name of self-defense. It
calls into question what came first, the attacks on the police or the brutality
against the public? Yet the individual officers are not civilly or criminally held
responsible for their actions. They can't be sued by individuals they have been
wrong and rarely are they prosecuted. Instead, the cities, counties and states are
financially bearing the brunt of their ego driven rampages, which have caused great
harm and sometimes death to individuals. This needs to change. Officers need to be
held responsible for when they have crossed the line.
In every state of the union, here are examples of officers brutalizing the public
but not being held responsible for their actions. The most recent and widely
publicized event happened in New York City. Unarmed Sean Bell and two of his
companions were leaving his bachelor party when the police turned a minor traffic
accident into a shooting gallery. At least fifty shots were fired by five police
officers into the car the three men occupied. Their vehicle was stuck by 21
bullets; Mr. Bell was killed and his companions severely wounded. But they were not
the only victims. A neighborhood man had not only his car damaged by three bullets,
but a fourth ripped through his front window, breaking a lamp in his living room.
Two Port Authority Police Officers were injured by flying glass when a bullet
shattered a window at the nearby AirTrain facility. All five officers involved have
been put on paid administrative leave. Their names have been withheld as well as
have any further details of the shooting. A Grand Jury will be convened to
investigated the circumstances of the shootings; but like Patrick Dorismond and
Amadou Diallo, can the Bell family expect justice from a system that as given free
reign to officers to do as they will without consequences.
Doing a Google search on "police abuse of power" brings up over seven million
entries. From the Iran-American, Mostafa Tabatabainejad who was tasered by the
UCLA police officers for now showing proper ID in the university library to the
harassment WFOS TV-CBS reporter Mike Kirsch, who investigated the abuse of citizens
who attempted to make complaints against officers, it quite apparent that law
enforcement officers are out of control. In spite of witnesses and video evidence,
the legal system continues to protect its own by persecuting innocent citizens.
There were students in the library that used their cells to document the abuse of
Mr. Tabatabainejad. On such video is at
http://votesmith.wordpress.com/tag/abuse-of-power/; be warned that it is very
graphic. In Kirsch's case, the Broward County Police Benevolent Association
initiated a BOLO, giving out Kirsch personal information including phone number,
license numbers and address to officers on a special alert. BOLO stands for "be on
the look out." This section is normally reserved for fugitives from justice and
missing persons. Although the listing was temporarily withdrawn, it was back on the
site March 17, along with the address and mobile phone number of Gregory Slate, one
of the Police Complaint Center's volunteers.
With all the coverage, the abuse isn't a secret. What is as easily apparent is what
is being done. It is foolish for a complaint to have to go to the department that
abused her or him to make complaint and expect that justice be done. But that is
how the system is now set up. There are very few associations, which have the
ability to effectively police the police. In many states, the Attorney General
cannot get involved until after the local complaints have been filed, which means if
the complaints are not accepted or denied, nothing will be done. Each state and
county needs to have an independent association that the pubic can file complaints
where they will be seriously investigated without complaint being harassed or
intimated. There is a national database where complaints can be registered at
http://www.policecomplaint.com/. This site has links to the FBI and Department of
Justice tasks forces as well as to a civilian compliant center and the ACLU. It is
a good resource, but none of them will prevent the abuse. The only way is insure
the officers have personal as well as profession consequences. They can held
responsible economically and legally for their actions. The only way this will be
possible is for the public to step. As with the students who used their cell phones
to document, the public needs to speak out not only on the local level but also on
the state. They need to report abuses to the Attorney General of their state and
not allow the office to hide behind protocol. Writing letters to the editor, giving
details of the abuse will also force the police to obey the civil rights laws.
Don't be afraid to speak up for others; you never know when you will be the one who
needs a witness. The more who speak out, the more power the public has to protect
itself against police intimation and harassment. Legislation needs to be passed that
allows individuals to sue officers. In addition, officers, who are accused of a
crime, cannot be investigated by their own department, but by the next level in the
chain of command.
Lastly know what your rights and responsibilities are. The ACLU (www.aclu.org) has
a list of what to do and not to do when approached by the police. It gives simple
specific instructions what your rights are. Knowing what do to, will help you
protect yourself and your loved ones.
Theresa Chaze leads her readers to magical realms and others worlds. Her work is
based on her philosophy that all peoples can live together in peace as long as we
come from respect, not only for ourselves but those who follow different paths or
beliefs. Her work has been compared to Marion Zimmer Bradley and Anne McCaffrey
with an adult version of Harry Potter mixed in. Theresa Chaze\'s major works so far
include the first two novels of the Dragon Clan Trilogy and a free fantasy ebook
called, Sisters, Mother, Daughters. Her screenplay, Never Can Say Good-bye, is one
of the 2006 winners of the Gloria Film Festival. She publishes an ezine called,
Messages From the Universe, which is available on her site www.theresachaze.com.
2025
