6 Thursday, August 28, 1997 Pahrump Valley Gazette
More police brutality --or did we really see it correctly ?
I didn't think I'd be back on the subject so quickly but national events
dictate a response. I'm beginning to think that the national media is
drinking Payrump water.
In the news this past week were no less than three charges about
police brutality. First came a video tape from Texas showing inmates
in a private prison being beaten and subjected to guard dog attacks and
having stun guns applied to them while they're helplessly crawling on
the floor trying to get away from the antagonistic guards.
Then there was a video tape showing a woman and a state trooper
having words for awhile and then the trooper grabs the woman, who
was simply and innocently stopped for a traffic violation and then
arrested for failure to pay a past traffic ticket, and throws her about,
handcuffs her, etc. The woman sued the back East state and won a
settlement.
Finally, the tragic story from New York City about a Haitian man
who was allegedly beaten and sexually assaulted in a brutal manner by
the cops of the 70th precinct.
Once again we're being assaulted with information that would tend
to make you believe the cops are people to be afraid of. Children see
these scenes and are forever impressed with such a belief. This is a more
tragic situation than the occasional bad cop.
But what about the bad cops in the above situations? Does all this
national media information really stand up to scrutiny? I don't think
so. Let's take a closer look.
First, the prison guards. We've been shown about 20-seconds of
video tape that certainly does show scenes of brutality. But, I ask
myself, what happened just prior to that video tape? Perhaps these
inmates were in the process of a riot, or attempting to escape, or beat
the guards, or, or, or. This has never even been questioned on any of the
reports I've seen. Another question, who photographed these scenes
and why did he/she release this tape? What was the motive here? The
deputies say the whole thing was staged for a training film.
Let's throw those questions aside and assume the 20 second tape is
perfectly legit and this abused occurred exactly as shown. Why is this
being used as an example of "police" brutality. These were private
guards working for a commercial-style prison. These guards are
privately employed by a company. These were not policemen, nor
were they state certified prison guards.
Take this issue offthe burner right now. Do not equate this with the
serious issue of police brutality. It doesn't belong in that subject
matter.
In the second issue, yes, the woman and trooper were having quite
a battle of words. The trooper was not Mr. Nice Guy in responding to
the woman. However, when he arrested and cuffed her it was right
after she "blew up" and began beating on a piece of equipment. The
officer was right to restrain her at this point.
Nobody said you have to study Will Rogers when you pick up a
badge. While the officer certainly could have been more polite with
the woman (he sounded like a Marine drill sergeant) he might have
had a very bad day handling the usual run of the mill scum bags and
simply had had his fill of whiners. This didn't warrant national media
attention and didn't fall in the category of police brutality, in my
opinion.
Then comes the New York situation. I don't know what to say here.
It would appear that something truly horrible happened here. While
my gut reactions to stories like this is to defend the cops -- this is a
situation where there appears to be no defense. I condemn the officers
that were involved in this ungodly situation.
There's no doubt that there are some bad apples out there. But to
play some of these stories may be a bit reckless and premature. I have
doubts about two out of the three recent stories.
When I was a kid you were brought up to respect people in uniform.
A cop was someone you could always trust and go to when you were
in trouble. It should still be that way today but it isn't.
Being inundated with these stories places an indelible impression in
the minds of today's youngsters. Fear the cops. Run from them at all
costs. They're the bad guys. Nonsense!
We must support our police, our sheriff's deputies, our troopers.
Ninety-nine point nine percent of them are honest, law-abiding, and
trying to make a difference for the rest of us.
Room and board full up
The cops arc, against the
robbers, the htws are
against the cops.
According to a report from the Justice De-
partment, the prison population in the United
States has doubled in the last decade. The fig-
ures for last year put the number at 1.6 million.
In 1995, one out of every 167 Americans was
On
Target
by Joe Richards
from the
Kingdom of Nye
Whether you
hate him or love
him, he won't let
you ignore him!
and lawyer
pathic "t psychics." Pope
charges $40 per half-hour
telephone,
,y
