dagblog - Comments for "Still Killing Citizens: The Death of Sam Dubose"

Michael, you can't really be

Peter — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 16:25:13 +0000

Michael, you can't really be so naive as to believe this Pollyannaish, Whitewashing tripe about 'reform', it is little more than a PR campaign to sooth White guilt about the continuing bloody treatment of minorities.

The White Middle Class rarely experiences the daily harassment and brutality the Cops systematically inflict on minorities unless they join activists and resist this oppression. We did see what happens when White people confront the Cops in NYC during OWS, the White Shirt officers were the ones who led the attack and inflicted punishment and brutality on the peaceful demonstrators many of whom were young women. They did this in full view of the media to show everyone who they work for and what they will do to those who resist.

As expected, the FOP of Ohio

rmrd0000 — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 20:15:41 +0000

In reply to The FOP will always fight any

As expected, the FOP of Ohio filed a grievance to get Tensing's job back.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ray-tensing-cincinnati-police-union_...?

The FOP will always fight any

Michael Wolraich — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 18:46:59 +0000

In reply to The head of the Fraternal

The FOP will always fight any reform that involves penalizing cops. I suppose that's the FOP's job, in the same way that it's the teachers' unions' job to defend tenure. The difference is that the FOB tends to draw support from across the political spectrum, which makes it harder to fight.

The head of the Fraternal

rmrd0000 — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 16:12:08 +0000

In reply to Pertinent piece in the NYT

The head of the Fraternal Order of Ploce is one person interviewed by The NYT. He thinks that the previous episode of police misconduct will be the last. He is always disappointed. The FOP has to take responsibility for recurrent decisions to have cops with a history of abuse back on the streets. Police unions like those of the NYPD petition to put bad cops back on the street.

https://news.vice.com/article/a-chokehold-didnt-kill-eric-garner-your-di...

Pertinent piece in the NYT

Michael Wolraich — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 15:58:45 +0000

In reply to Still Killing Citizens: The Death of Sam Dubose

Pertinent piece in the NYT today: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/31/us/through-lens-of-video-a-transformed...

This is not a mystery. We

Michael Wolraich — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 03:37:54 +0000

In reply to I think this is the main

This is not a mystery. We already know how to reform police departments. Outside supervision, dismissal of problematic cops, community policing, better training, etc. The hard part is implementing these changes on a national scale.

Yeah, I was rhetorically

Michael Wolraich — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 03:30:00 +0000

In reply to Actually, Mike, my questions

Yeah, I was rhetorically taking your rhetorical questions literally. I absolutely agree with you about outside pressure on police reform, and your distinction between law enforcement factions sounds astute. Where I did take issue with your post and with the way most activists have been approaching police brutality, is the emphasis on prosecuting individuals. I support applying "the full force of the law" for the sake of justice, but I don't think it's a very practical way to change police attitudes and behavior. There are more effective ways; I wish they were a bigger part of the conversation.

Thanks. I think you are right

A Guy Called LULU — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 02:31:33 +0000

In reply to They're all U of Cincinnati

Thanks. I think you are right about the different cultures within any police force and I remember that you have more to base that belief on than most people do theirs.

I think this is the main

ocean-kat — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 01:29:00 +0000

In reply to Why so surprised? This kind

I think this is the main point. We'll never stop cops from killing people if we don't stop cops from terrorizing many more people into submission with threats of violence or minor acts of violence. The cops who enjoy bullying people regularly will eventually kill someone or beat them to the point of critical injuries when these bullying tactics escalate. I do think it's likely that the cops who enjoy bullying people are a minority, perhaps a significant minority, but still a minority. The question is how to get police chiefs to punish them and how to get the good cops to stop protecting them when they violate citizens civil rights.

They're all U of Cincinnati

Doctor Cleveland — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 00:47:31 +0000

In reply to Were the two alibi cops with

They're all U of Cincinnati cops. I don't think this is the DA viewing the University cops as another gang ... They're all cops in his jurisdiction.

On the other hand, Tensing is a rookie on a university force, and many of the younger officers on college police forces are young guys who didn't get into the city police, and are building some police experience before taking the city's police exam again. (I've actually seen a knot of more senior college cops surrounding a younger colleague and quizzing him to help him prep for the Boston police exam.)

So, yeah, Tensing is a little disposable, in that he's just starting out and is more or less a minor league rookie. It's easier to write him off as someone unfit for police work.

On the other hand, what Tensing did IS outrageous, and the evidence is glaring. The DA is also voicing the values of that other police culture I'm talking about, the tradition in law enforcement that views people like Tensing as unprofessional and unfit. Too many of the cops take the side of people like Darren Wilson, but there are also cops who see the Darren Wilsons, Ray Tensings, and so forth as terrible police officers who never went about their jobs in the right way.