Monday, September 26, 2011
Fullerton CA officer charged with 2nd degree murder
A Fullerton, CA police officer was recently charged with second-degree murder. The officer's own recording device reports that he said "See my fists? They are going to f___ you up." This occurred shortly before the victim was beaten (incl. stun gun) to death. Some agencies are now requiring that officers' record (audio and/ or video) all encounters with citizens. For some of these agencies this has replaced in the in-car video cameras. Sounds like a good policy. It will help clear or convict officers without the usual swearing contests that are often difficult to decide.
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"Sounds like a good policy"? Whatever happened to professionalism and the public trust? Nanny oversight may help administrators and lawyers feel warm and fuzzy, but it denigrates cops which undermines the confidence people have in them. The few bad apples on the force have usually established a track record, not to mention they're surrounded by plenty of private camera phones.
ReplyDelete44 Thanks for the message. "Police professionalism" in many agencies, is a PR word and aspiration rather than a reality. Most agencies have insufficient discipline for wayward officers. Public trust largely died with the Rodney King and Abner Louima incidents. Distrust of police is a tradition in many neighborhoods. Sometimes the problem extends beyond a few bad applies. Camera phones will help, but won't solve the problem. The police brutality problem is largely institutional and cultural. Until those fundamentals are altered, the best we can hope for in many agencies is increased surveillance of officers.
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