Troubling litany of police incidents
December 15, 2006 11:38 pm
It's been a bad stretch lately for law enforcement officers charged with abusing their power.
In Durham, police officers lost their jobs for an off-duty altercation outside a Raleigh sports bar. And sheriff's deputies were fired and one faces criminal charges of drug trafficking after allegations at a north Durham nightclub. And police are investigating an incident in which an officer threw a news photographer on a car hood and arrested him.
The incidents haven't been limited to Durham. Raleigh police and Wake County sheriff's deputies also face charges of using excessive force. And a New Hanover County sheriff's deputy is under investigation for mistakenly shooting into an apartment, killing the unarmed resident, an 18-year-old college student from Durham. New York police are under intense scrutiny after officers fired 50 shots into a car, killing an unarmed bridegroom the night before his wedding.
Now another charge has been added to the Durham list, that city officer C.S. Barkley severely injured a 15-year-old Jordan High school girl as he attempted to break up a fight with another girl at the school. Family members of Capricia Crennell say Barkley hit her in the head with a flashlight, fracturing her skull. Barkley remains on inactive duty while the charge is investigated. But now others are coming forward to allege that Barkley has a history of violent behavior.
There is no connection between these incidents, and no reason to assume Barkley did anything wrong. Nor should we automatically dismiss the charges, which is what used to happen when accusations were leveled at law enforcement officers.
The recent litany of incidents is troubling, but it's also a reminder of how difficult a police officer's job is. Officers need training to help them make split second, life or death decisions and to keep a cool head in high tension situations. And police leaders need to constantly emphasize the importance of officers' setting a good example for the public.
We ask police officers to do an important job,for little pay and with rare positive feedback. But with their weapons and the mantle of authority they carry, the police also wield considerable power. We must insist that they use it sparingly, and within the law.
URL for this article: http://www.heraldsun.com/opinion/hsedits/56-799934.cfm
http://www.heraldsun.com/opinion/hsletters/
Nifong's petty motive
I have often asked myself why the accuser in the Duke lacrosse rape case told police no condoms were used in the alleged attack, even though condoms would have explained the lack of DNA evidence. Nine months later I have my answer. A recent Herald-Sun story submits that Mike Nifong is either unjustly maligned for his dogged prosecution of the players, or is grossly incompetent.
I submit that he is neither. He simply chose the wrong case to draw attention to himself and, having done so, is too proud to admit his mistake. Nifong needs to at last do the right thing and drop this case. He can't possibly win. His only motivation for continuing is to bleed the families of the accused as much as he can.
Nifong is a petty and vindictive man. And when this is over, he will be a beaten man, with neither reputation nor credibility.
DAVID HIGHLANDS
St. Petersburg, Fla.
December 16, 2006