copblock.org
Police are so loved and respected in this country, that even when they are rapists and murderers, they are treated better than the average human being, and certainly better than the average criminal. Recently examples are illustrative.
Jose Guerena, a former Marine who was the victim of a mistaken drug raid, was the target of 120+ rounds shot by Pima County Sherriff’s SWAT team. He was left to bleed to death, while his wife begged for medical attention, and eventually died because police refused to let paramedics through. Such is how police treated a suspected drug violator. (More here).
Neli Latson was wrongfully suspected of being a suspicious character with a gun. When he refused to submit to wrongful arrest, he was beaten by police. While being beaten, he yelled that he had done nothing wrong, to which the police replied, “You don’t have to – Welcome to Stafford County.” Neli reported a gun was held to his head, and the officer stated, “I will blow your head off, nigger.” (More here and here). Such is how police treated a person suspected of exercising their 2nd Amendment (alleged) rights.
Fred Skinner, aged 76 was eating when police mistakenly burst through his door with guns drawn, put him in handcuffs, and ransacked his house in search of drugs. Police did not even stop to apologize when they realized they had entered and extensively damaged the wrong house, although when the matter attracted substantial media attention, they finally agreed to pay to repair Mr. Skinner’s porch. (More here). Such is how police treat an innocent old man minding his own business.
John Williams was walking down the street in the opposite direction with a small, folded whittling knife when Officer Ian Birk of Seattle Police Department called out for him to stop. Being deaf in one ear, Mr. Williams did not hear, and did not stop. He was executed on the spot. (More here). Such is how police treat a person who dares disobey orders, even unreasonable ones.
18-year-old Ramarley Graham, was shot to death in front of his grandmother and younger brother after he attempted to flush a bag of marijuana down the toilet. Police did not have a warrant to enter the home, and Mr. Graham was unarmed. (More here and here). Such is how police treat drug offenders – and in a city where pot is allegedly “decriminalized.”
Alan Kephart disobeyed officers’ orders in connection with a traffic matter, and instead gave officers the middle finger. He was tasered to death. (More here). Such is how police treat traffic violators who are rude to them.
Kelly Thomas, a schizophrenic homeless man, attracted the attention of Fullerton police, who were allegedly looking for a suspected car thief matching his description. One glance at his face after police were done with him tells pretty much the whole story. He eventually died from his injuries. Such is how police treat people potentially suspected of car theft.
On the other hand, police themselves seem to rarely face such harsh consequences for minor transgressions. Indeed, they often face no consequences at all, and when they are charged and imprisoned, they are treated with a great deal of dignity and respect.
Officer Art Perea faced no consequences in relation to his employment when the accusations of rape surfaced. He was permitted to resign on his own accord, and ultimately faced no charges after investigations, which took several months, cleared him of wrongdoing. (More here). Such is how police treat a potential rapist among their ranks – they have such faith in him, that they don’t even bother to take him off duty, or quarantine him from the public.
Officer Anthony Arevalos similarly was accused of sexual assault. Although he was finally duly punished, he was not fired and faced no repercussions after he was accused of sexual assault for the first time. (More here). Again, such is how police treat rapists among their ranks.
In another particularly heinous tale, Officer Stephanie Lazarus of the LAPD was found to have been a major suspect in the brutal murder of Sherri Rasmussen, which occurred in 1986. Saliva and broken fingernails collected at the scene of the crime had been preserved. A detective secretly followed Lazarus and was able to retrieve a sample of her saliva from a straw she threw away. When the time came to arrest Lazarus in 2009, she was at her desk at the LAPD headquarters. She was told to go attend to an issue about an inmate in the jail downstairs. When she removed her gun and passed through the security gate, she was uneventfully intercepted by detectives and taken into interrogation. (More here).
When innocent people are suspected of crimes, they are regularly beaten, tasered, have their doors kicked in, their homes ransacked, or have their pets shot. When ordinary people have committed minor crimes, they are often tasered or shot and killed. However, when police rape and murder, they are treated with surprisingly reasonable measures (or maybe not so surprising – after all, the police essentially police themselves).
Perea was not beaten or tasered when accused of rape; he wasn’t even fired. Arevalos didn’t have his door kicked in and his house ransacked. Lazarus who was a violent, psychopathic murderer was disarmed non-violently, and faced neither a hail of 120+ rounds of bullets, tasers, fists, nor boots. This is not to say that murder suspects should be beaten, or that potential rapists should be tasered – but perhaps the rest of us are human beings as well, and should be treated in a similarly reasonable manner.
