Below the fold is a copy of a Facebook post made by a 10 year veteran police officer. He just happens to be my brother. I think his attitude is indicitive of how most police feel. They believe that because they work a dangerous public service job, they should be treated differently. It is justification for their bad behavior.
My immediate family, my son and my husband while he was alive, have always supported my views about social justice. Some other members of my family seem to have a real problem with my views.
My brother, who is seven and a half years younger than I am, and who is retired from the USAF and lives in Montana, thinks that programs like Food Stamps should be slowly discontinued. He feels that donations through church food banks, Salvation Army, and United Way should be enough of a saftey net.
He has pretty much quit calling me or texting me since I began my diaries here.
My sister, who is six years my junior, and who barely makes it from paycheck to paycheck, must have some problem with my diaries too. I have not heard from her since I posted my first diary, No Yellow Ribbions. I expected her to support my attempt to discuss these topics, even if she doesn't agree with my views.
The largest rift is between me and my half brother, who is a police officer and his wife. It may include my step-mother, though she has never said a single word to me about it. In fact, she hasn't said a single word to me, nor has anyone else in my family since my Facebook exchange with my brother. Below the fold, I have included an exact replica of that exchange.
I have been frozen out of my family. I'm used to it, I have always been my family's black sheep, a story for another day. It is nonetheless painful.
Join me below the fold for the entire facebook exhange which ended with my relegation to the deep freeze.
I planned to launch my new blog on New Years Day of 2015 with an inciteful account of my experience during the NaNoWriMo challenge of November 2014. Then our country sunk into anger and discord after the questionable deaths of several people. No police officer has been held accountable for even the most egregious death. The "Blue Wall" springs up and makes it almost impossible to even investigate these cases.
I responded to a picture my step-mother Elaine Smith posted. I love Elaine dearly. She the most Christain person I have ever personally known. She has shared her home with me when I was in need. She has sent money to my son and me, recently. My father is elderly, and difficult to care for. She has always taken good care of him. I know that I don't have to be worried about him, because she is with him. Her wishes for others are always positive. I respect her, and her opinions. I don't always agree. That is the beauty of respect, you can disagree yet discuss logically. Logical discussion is the only nonviolent vehicle for change.
She posted a photo asking us all to respect police because they put their lives on the line daily.
I posted the following comment through my facebook account.
Yup, I am glad for the service of the cops who aren't dirty, and who don't shoot or choke civilians. Only time a gun should come out is if they are in imminent danger, ie being shot at already. Too many cops are dirty, they are bullies, and now we have murderous cops getting away with it with impunity. Until the blue line comes down, lots of folks are going to be angry at aryll cops. I am angry because my son got sucked into the system. He didn't do anything! His ex-wife has a cop boyfriend, and had it out for Mike.He has been arrested over a dozen times, for trumped up charges. He was beaten twice. Once it took me four days to bond him out. They did not feed him a single bite the entire time plus they took his leg away, and did not give him a wheelchair. When I finally got him out, I had to take him to the ER. He had been seriously beaten, was dehydrated and starving. Plus, they did not allow him any of his medications. Funny, now that he has a good lawyer, all the charges are being dropped, cause guess what? HE NEVER DID ANYTHING! So, guess what? COPS LIE CHEAT AND STEAL JUST LIKE THE CROOKS THEY CATCH. Some cops are worse than the crooks. At least a crook can't lie about you and lock you up for life. COPS SHOULD BE HELD TO A HIGHER STANDARD. Face it folks, justice is for sale. The wealthy get all they want, the poor go to jail.
April posted the following reply through her facebook account. She is married to Jonathan Smith, my brother, and a cop.
Really!? They should only bring out their weapon if they are already being shot at!? Um...it's too late then and then they have given up their life for someone who is committing a wrong against society and putting others in danger. Likely a robber or someone involved in trafficking drugs which is ruining futures of our young children America. By all means I am not saying all officers are perfect however we definitely don't want to let people run around especially criminals thinking and doing whatever they want. That is called chaos. I certainly don't want to fear for my life and The lives of those I love going somewhere just because individuals who can't make positive choices are given free reign because people in America think that we are too harsh. Look at crime rates abroad versus here. Then become a police officer and deal with to cheat lie kill etc. and then argue about it and think that it's okay. Because we are so liberal in this country with our punishment people think that they can do what they want and that's the reason everything hand and all police officers have to be on guard because they have no protection they are their own protection. And then the news media and other individuals who promote alternate agendas and don't always tell all the facts getting people who are unaware of the situation all fired up and ranting and raving when they don't even know what they're talking about most of the time. IF CRIMINALS DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG THEN THEY WOULDN'T BE TIED UP IN THE SYSTEM! BY THE WAY, DRUGS ARE ILLEGAL.
I replied to her post, again through my facebook account.
April: The United States is the MOST VIOLENT DEVELOPED NATION. A GREATER PERCENTAGE OF OUR POPULATION IS IN JAIL THAN IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, INCLUDING RESTRICTIVE REGIMES. Those numbers don't lie. What we are doing isn't working. We have to change how all of us look at the problem of violence. Having police officers walk away from taking responsibility for mistakes that result in a death isnt a good way to affect change.
It is not true that everyone who gets sucked into the system has done something to warrant that. As I have sat in court with my son during the past two years, I have seen case after case dismissed, with the apology of the court, for lack of credible evidence, or for outright police misconduct.
My son was arrested once at a Family Dollar for shoplifting. He had just walked into the store, the officer actually walked in behind him. The clerk identified my son as the suspect, and he was arrested, without the officer viewing the tape of the incident first. His vehicle was towed. I had to pay his bail, 1200$, get his truck out of hock, 1000$, and pay a lawyer, 2500$, for that one case. When the tape was finally reviewed, at the insistance of my son's lawyer, it was clear that my son WAS NOT EVEN IN THE STORE UNTIL SECONDS BEFORE THE OFFICER WALKED IN BEHIND HIM, and that the suspect was 3" shorter and WAS NOT MISSING A LEG. What is interesting is that although we got all kinds of gushing apologies, not one penny was refunded to me.
If you think that story is bad, I have six more just as bad. On this last Wednesday, he finally settled the last issue here in our county. He pled guilty for 1 failure to appear. Yep, he was in the ER that morning, and I forgot to call. My fault. The original charge was dismissed after an evidentiary hearing, where the Judge ruled there was NO EVIDENCE AND ASKED WHY HE HAD BEEN ARRESTED.
The courts, bail bondsmen, lawyers, jails, all run on the money of the folks police round up. Police must make productivity quotas, so they arrest whoever, whenever, they think that they can get away with it. Many innocent people are chewed up by the system because they trust something that is broken beyond repair.
I can't wait until all you smug self righteous folks get a taste of the truth. Maybe it will take you being arrested without cause to wake you all up. The police are more frightening to me than a criminal with a gun. I can protect myself from a criminal, I can't protect myself from the police. I just don't have enough money to protect myself from them. And trust me, their language is money.
The police have never, and will never protect you. That is an illusion. Everyone wants to feel safe, so we hire lots of cops. The truth is, they only come after the crime has been committed. If you can't or won't protect yourself and your family, you are at risk. You are counting on an illusion, of saftey, to protect you. Start asking yourself how the police spend their shifts. Mostly with traffic stops and stupid nonsence calls, thats how. When someone breaks into your house, they are stoping Joe B. for driving 5 miles over the speed limit, or because he didn't come toa full stop at a stop sign, or just for sport.
Yep, I am angry. I will continue to be angry, until some things change. After the system sucks you in and spits you out, you will be angry too.
Post through the Facebook account of April Smith
The poster is actually my brother Jonathan Smith.
I have posted his exact words.
December 13 at 10:18am
This is Jonathan making this post. If everything is true in reference to the mistreatment of Mike then there is a remedy. It's called suing for false arrest and unlawful imprisonment iris pretty, much the same in every state. Have you done so? I have been a cop for over ten years, I have never abused nor mistreated anybody. I have never seen another officer do the same! What I have seen, is beeing shot at by two young teenagers ages 14 and 15, who had stolen two cars and were breaking onto a ware house when I arrived. Both were here illegally by the way! I have stared into the eyes of a dead two year old child for hours while waiting for the corner because of the piece of shit boyfriend and mother beat this child. I have gone into a meth lab to pull an eight month old baby out who's parents were actively cooking! The one thing I noticed about all these case that seems to be familiar, they are all living off society and the welfare the receive. I am so sick and tired of all the police bashing! No one knows unless you have walked through our shows the shit that I go through and deal with! Not being able to shoot at someone until being shot at is absolutely insane. You forget that it isn't the officer who determines the outcome of the encounter but the individual! I only use the force necessary to affect an arrest based on the suspects actions. And to clear up a big misconception. Police do not have quotas! The courts have ruled the agencies can't require an officer to meet a quota. Government agencies are not allowed to be in a for profit business! It's funny how the people who have never contributed the better of society are the ones who always who are always bitching about how the way things are fucked up! You have no problem excepting the social programs the it provides you! Remember you always have a choice, if you don't like here because there is such injustice then fucking leave! I have Been all over this world of ours and though we are not perfect we are better than anywhere else. You have more freedom here than any other society. Everyday, I go out here and put my life on the line. I have been to officers funerals and watched there children cry over their caskets. So if I seem a little biter and hostile, your damn right! With that being sad, have a nice fucking life!
I replied to my brother, again via my facebook account.
Jonathan: I don't doubt that you are outstanding at your job, and that you truly feel/believe what you say. You talk like I have never been anywhere or seen anything. You talk like you believe that I spent my life sitting on my ass doing nothing, and that I am some kind of druggie blight on society.
You forget that I grew up with my dad, our dad, in some horrible North Vietnameese POW camp. I went to sleep every night with images of him being tortured. I worked with the National League of Families to affect the release of all American POWs.
That is where/when I learned an inate distrust of all authority. Our dad was nothing more than a pawn used to get President Nixon reelected.
I too have traveled widely, much more so than you. This country was founded on amazing principles. They have been dumped in almost every sector. If you can't/won't see the reality around you, I pity you and your family. Please open your eyes. Until you really alow yourself to see and experience the desperation, you can't begin to help. As long as you live your life blindly following the directions you are given by authority figures, you can never hope to make anything better.
You just did to me the very thing that I am trying to fight against. You cursed me, marginalized me because you disapprove of my lifestyle (which you know nothing about), and minimalized the concerns I have for our society. You don't have the right as my brother, as a cop, and certainly as a human being to behave like that.
I truly believe that many cops try to do the right thing when faced with violence. But many do not, and they are inevitably protected by that insurmountable "blue wall." If a cop sees another cop do wrong, does he turn him in? No. Most are afraid to do so. Note, Seripco is a true story that illustrates how deep corruption can run, and how nearly impossible it is to root out. Until all cops refuse to protect the corrupt cops, it will continue unabated. The citizens of this country are angry and fed up. I'm AFRAID for you, for all cops. I'm afraid of you too. Its a shame when a 61 year old disabled widow would rather face down a crook than deal with a cop, but that is how I feel based on my experience. My experience is as valid as yours.
Note, that I do not address you in anger or indignation. I am trying to start a dialog between the various factions. If we can't discuss this issue logically, our country is lost. I would never in my life tell another American to leave if he doesn't like what is happening here. My dad paid too high a price for the freedoms we have for me to ever abuse them.
I find myself asking, Jonathan, if your reaction to my opinion angers you so deeply that you curse me, tell me to leave, HOW DO YOU TREAT THE PEOPLE YOU ARREST? Do you curse them, rough them up, slam them down on the ground and dig your knee into their back as you handcuff them? I just wonder.
If this issue can cause dissention in a family, it can certainly fracture our country. My advice is to listen closely to all news outlets, form a position about the issue, and then set about educating the people around you. Americans need to wake up out of their apathy, and take the power back.
So, for my sentiment regarding police brutality, I am now a family outcast. Have any of you gotten a cold shoulder from your family because of your views? Please tell us about how you handled that in he comments below. Maybe your suggestions might help me and others who are dealing with this problem.