Good Cops and Bad Cops and Military Hardware.

In several instances these past two weeks Black young men were killed by White police officers.  Now people are really looking into if this is endemic, stats are coming out showing that it is.  That too many police officers are out of control, from killing unarmed Black, Native Americans, and Hispanics to even family dogs.

Armed raids by police were about 3,000 per year prior to 9/11.  They are now over 50,000 a year.

The police now have and are buying military grade weapons, armored vehicles, and other materials that are surplus from Iraqi Freedom.  The same equipment used to attack and put down terrorists are now not in the hands of trained military, but in the hands of our civilian police forces.

Now, are law enforcement personnel all bad?  Absolutely NOT. The vast majority are good people, putting their lives on the line to help the public, to truly serve and protect. They put up with some horrible situations, from finding child molesters to breaking up domestic disputes to stopping armed criminals. Thank goodness for their work and dedication!

However, there is a cancer among those good police officers. The bad cops.  The ones who abuse their authority.  The ones who feel because they wear a badge they are better than anyone and above the law.  The ones who because they have a gun feel they are immune to the law and use it to frighten and intimidate.

These officers are a cancer because they are being allowed to get away with their crimes.  They are not being called to account, they are not being put on trial, they are not facing the same penalties any regular person would get, and they should actually face worse because they break the public trust.

These officers are a cancer because, and this is the more saddening situation, the good officers and their superiors say and do nothing. They do not stand against these "fellow officers" who act like this, they keep quiet. Their superiors defend these actions and try to cover it up or deflect.  This then taints all the law enforcement personnel. And this makes people wonder about ALL cops and not just bad ones.

When the system of justice ignores those who are supposed to support that system, the system then is completely and utterly broken.  Until good cops stand up to and against bad cops, this distrust will grow and become worse. Racism is there, it's clear and evident, but good cops are doing little or nothing to expose those among them.  And their superiors are even more culpable in trying to save face and even cover it all up.

Things MUST change, for the sake of the public and more so for the sake of our good law enforcement personnel.  Our police are not and have never been a military force, yet now have that hardware, and combine that with allowing bad cops to get away with what they do, the racism pervading too much of our now militarized police, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Racism and Law Enforcement

In the past two weeks there have been two tragic events. Both involved young Black men.

In the first case a White police officer stopped, attempted to arrest, and then shot six times an unarmed young Black man who allegedly stole from a convenience store. He died. A Grand Jury was convened, and it was determined that the officer should not be brought to trial.

In the second case a young Black man was selling cigarettes for $1 instead of $2 to pay taxes. He was confronted by police and became upset, an officer jumped him from behind putting him in a take down hold but then not letting go and it became a choke hold.  The Black man cried out as much he could eleven times he could not breath. He died. It was all caught on video. The coroner ruled that the Black man's death was a homicide. A Grand Jury was convened, and it was determined that the officer should not be brought to trial.

Officers of the law are trained to never use lethal force unless it is a last resort. In both cases that is not what happened as all the evidence shows.  Both men were unarmed. Both men had not committed a violent crime.  Both men were faced with experienced officers of the law supposedly trained in all necessary techniques to calm a situation or take down a suspect without killing them.  Both officers failed. And yet both were let go free. In the case of the officer who shot the young man, he got over $1,000,000.00 and "retired."

Blacks in various cities protest.  In Ferguson, where the Black man was shot, riots ensue and looters destroy several businesses and buildings. But then in many cities peaceful protests occur, and even in Ferguson outside the looting are huge peaceful protests. Police in all areas confront and block the peaceful protestors, they force them off trains, off the streets, push back angrily with no cause. They arrest peaceful protestors along with the looters.

Now, let's turn back the clock just over six months.  A millionaire cattle rancher who broke the law by refusing to pay fees and costs on his land, who defied the courts, and who said that Blacks were better off as slaves, makes a stand on his land. He is supported by Fox News and Conservatives (prior to his slave statement) and the Tea Party.  He is considered a revolutionary against the government. Numerous local "militias" and Tea Party activists show up with their guns, rifles, and scopes.  They setup a blockade at the ranch and on the roads.  They aim their rifles at the local and Federal law enforcement and state they will kill them. These Tea Party members and the rancher demand that the local police disarm the Federal officers. The local law enforcement actually close the roads and corden off the area so that they can express their "First Amendment Rights."

Not one single solitary member of the Tea Party or ranch is arrested.  Not one is forced to move off the roads so people can drive through. Not one is detained.

But if they were Black, what would have happened?

Don't say it's not about race, because it damn well is.