Posted on 07/09/2009 5:06:25 AM PDT by marktwain
(AP Photo/El Monte Police Department) It all started out with a kick to the head. True, the suspect was not exactly one to elicit sympathy, but that's not the point. A free society cannot tolerate police acting outside the law to administer physical punishment.
Except Dean Scoville, "Associate Editor of Police Magazine and a retired patrol supervisor and investigator with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department," disagrees with that:
There was a time when post pursuit ass-kickings were obligatory. Cops knew it, suspects knew it, and there are enough old timers on both sides of the fence that will verify the assertion when I say that what this officer did was NOTHING compared to what would have happened in another place and time...
But frankly, I’m nostalgic for the days when the pursued feared the judicial system if for nothing but the inevitable ass-kicking and street justice.
Nostalgia indicates this former supervisor is recalling from experience. I wanted to find out, so I asked the Sheriff's department
and the LA Board of Supervisors.
A little over a week ago I had a cordial telephone chat with an attorney from the Office of Independent Review, a nice enough lady, who let me know the results of her investigation. Essentially, there were no use of force incidents on record to indicate Scoville's recollections of "street justice" were anything more than "puffery" (her word).
Here is the OIR's final resolution: (Image on site)
And the LASD has weighed in: (Image on site)
Here's their report, signed by Sheriff Lee Baca: (Image on site)
The findings--or lack of them--do not surprise me. After all, Mr. Scoville's "nostalgia" is not exactly sworn testimony. I appreciate the OIR and the LASD following up on this. Call me naive, but I believe they did what they could here, and frankly, they did more than I expected.
So what's the point? Just that a free society cannot tolerate "street justice" administered by government employees. Reports of abuse by those in authority are daily occurrences, and we, as citizen overseers of our employees, need to be alert and need to take action when they come to our attention.
What I did here should not be unique. Each of us should feel free to pursue similar inquiries whenever we deem them appropriate. It is a fact of modern life that our government is constantly watching us. It's past time we let them know that we are also watching them.
And we all can participate. Call it true "street justice".
This article is complete BS. Of course street justice existed - in many places. How many remember the Philadelphia police under Rizzo? Or the actions of the PG County police in Maryland?
Of course it did.
Police departments used to be part of the community as well.
A cop who found you a bit inebriated behind the wheel used to give you a ride home.
A cop that found your teen up to some mischief brought him home after giving him a good talking to and them told you what your little bugger was up too and left the discipline to you.
Yes in the a criminal might get an A**kicking after forcing the cops to chase him but the cops were also more friendly to their neighbors in the past.
Chris Rock - How not to get your ass kicked by the police!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj0mtxXEGE8
Several years ago - 1996 - I locked my keys in the car, next to a restaurant. There were a couple VA State Troopers in there and I asked them if they could help me. They had to politely refuse because lawsuits forced them to stop. I know back in the 60's, 70', and before then, the cops would help you.
Now, they are beseiged by everyone and see everyone as the enemy.
But what if someone proposed the idea that Street Justice should work both ways?
Or is the mere idea of that a criminal act?
It's just that his overwhelmingly foul mouth that sends me to the channel changer.
That’s a good one.
The best humor always has an often ignored truth a the root.
A friend of mine is a cop. He told me a few years ago that many departments are now issuing fines to drivers who lock their keys in their car. Just another revenue source I suppose.
I highly recommend the following Youtube by Chris Rock. How not to get your ass kicked by the police.
If the link doesn't work, go to Youtube and look it up. Hilarious.
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