If more citizens don't demand more Police Accountability, it will likely never happen.
Here are a few reasons why Police need to be held MORE Accountable:
Police brutality calls for transparency and accountability
by Nahla Aboutabl, The Breeze -- April 26, 2015
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Laws need to be written to reshape the way cops deal with citizens. There shouldn’t be a hierarchy where the suspect is automatically guilty and is treated with no respect or dignity, while the cop is given the upper hand and his or her word is weighed more heavily. [...]
The argument that cops risk their lives protecting us, thus deserving a certain amount of respect, can apply to any job that requires taking risks, such as surrounding yourself with illnesses as a doctor or reporting news from dangerous countries as a journalist. We don’t hear doctors and journalists walking around demanding respect and obedience, and there’s no reason cops should either.
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Cameras, social media and nationwide protests and student movements have brought police brutality to the forefront of our nation’s most discussed subjects, but they’re just reactionary. There needs to be a clear national agenda reshaping the way police departments train their cops to respect our dignity and protect our lives, no matter what our skin color, gender, religion, socioeconomic class or sexual orientation may be.
If every Cop had a cop-cam that was
always on, then the Cops who act out with Brutality,
would soon be out of a Job -- either by have charges filed against them;
Or by themselves quitting the force -- after realizing they can no longer act with abandon ... as if they were 'Above the Law'. No longer would they be 'beyond scrutiny' ... No longer would they be 'virtually untouchable'.
Their video-recorded acts -- for ill or for good -- would be a plain matter of "Public Record."
The "Bad Apples" could be plainly Held Accountable, for their routine 'Bad Acts'.
Here are a few more reasons why Police need to be held MORE Accountable:
Presentation offers insight on rights, police accountability
by Joshua Gutierrez, sonomastatestar.com -- March 31, 2015
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The Police Accountability and Know Your Rights presentation at Sonoma State offered practical advice on how to be safe when interacting with police. In addition, the American Civil Liberties Union and Police Accountability Clinic and Helpline provided information about their respective organizations, which offer a range of services from personal counseling to legal aid.
“Police officers are here to serve and protect us and not the other way around,” said Nancy Palandati of the ACLU. “If no one complains, they are not going to change their way. If nobody pays attention, they are going to keep escalating their tactics. It’s not going to change unless people get involved.”
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The perspective of one panelist, David Engel, represented the blunt reality of the national conversation.
“Do not trust police, they can lie to you, it is perfectly legal for them to lie to you,” said Engel. “If you lie to them, it is a crime. Whenever you are around police, keep your hands out of your pockets and do not make sudden movements. Do not walk behind police. You do not want to do anything that will startle them. Nervous cops are dangerous cops.”
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Here is how the citizens of one city are going about MAKING their Police force, MORE Accountable to the Law themselves:
Memphis United Demands More Accountability for Police Officers
Group pushes city to give more teeth to Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board.
by Louis Goggans, memphisflyer.com -- April 09, 2015
Driving under the influence, aggravated assault, rape, and murder are among the offenses law enforcement are paid to police. Ironically, these very crimes are amid the illegal acts some Memphis officers have been arrested for since last year.
[...] People waved signs and protested in support of efforts to hold law enforcement more accountable.
The primary approach to help accomplish this goal would be through an amendment of the city's Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB) ordinance. The revision would provide CLERB with the power to subpoena documents and police witnesses, investigate complaints concurrently with the Memphis Police Internal Affairs department, and make disciplinary recommendations to the Memphis Police director, among other authoritative acts. The Memphis City Council's Personnel Committee will discuss the amendment at its next meeting on April 21st.
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"We have to have a complete change in the culture of MPD {Memphis Police Department}," Watkins said. "Not only the culture of MPD and how it relates to its citizens, but the institution of MPD and its relationship to the psychological health of the officers themselves. Without these things, we'll only have further harassment and violence in our community. The MPD has to be accountable, open to the public, and [responsive] before there's a murder and a protest — not constantly playing catch-up afterwards with token gestures that don't change the reality of people's lives."
Here's to removing the "unlawful instigators" -- from the ranks of our Police Forces.
Those who trample upon our Citizens Rights to safety, to human dignity, and to Due Process, and indeed to the Right of Life itself-- those who trample those Rights should have NO Right themselves to enforce the Law ... as if their Badge were some sort of 'Shield of Immunity' to the Law itself, and to the due consequences their own brutal actions should rightfully demand.
If their were any true justice in our supposed system ... of "Everyone being Equal Under the Law."