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He was a bad guy ... so it's OK for the cops to beat the shit out of him?
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 He was a bad guy ... so it's OK for the cops to beat the shit out of him? The police in Maplewood, MO (suburb of St. Louis) appear to have pulled a mini-Rodney King on a guy subsequent to a high speed chase (that never should have occurred, the guy was not suspected of a serious crime). A news copter caught the scene of the "suspect" face down on the concrete getting beaten by four officers. Sad to hear it happened but disturbed to read today a quote from a white resident of Maplewood protesting in support of the officers: "'This is not a black-white issue,' said Tim O'Brien, the protest organizer. 'It's a good guy-bad guy issue. That guy was a bad guy.'" Let me get this straight, the fact that the black guy on the ground getting the shit beat out of him has a criminal history justifies the police action? Oh contraire my friend. Our constitution requires equal protection under the law for all its citizens. All means all, there is no "prior criminal" exception to the unreasonable use of police force. Yes, it's hard to be a cop (my grandfather and cousin were cops and my father was a commissioner of the St. Louis County Police for 14 years). I have sympathy for the men and women in blue. But it is extremely important to the fabric of our society that they not abuse their power nor dispense justice in an unequal manner. Apologizing for police brutality just compounds the problem. Let's call a spade what it is and move on. 2-3-2006. Add Comment Permalink
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