Cross posted from HP:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Philadelphia has one of the highest murder rates in the country, a wave of cop-killings, gang violence, and a drug epidemic. The only thing keeping a lid on the rampant violence are the brave men and women of the Philadelphia Police Department.
So it's imperative to address the fallout from the video showing police officers seemingly using excessive force while apprehending three African-American suspects alleged to have been involved in a triple shooting on the night of May 5 -- just two days after the cold-blooded murder of police Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski -- including yesterday's firings.
As an Iraq war veteran who came home disillusioned and fought for an end to the war, I've always been troubled by members of the anti-war movement who disrupt congressional hearings where vital information regarding the Iraq war needs to be presented to the public.
When the activists are arrested by Capitol police in accordance with standard operating procedure, the activists turn their disruptive actions on the arresting officers in a way that tries to portray the police as a modern-day Gestapo or Bush proxies trying to silence dissent.
But the police are just doing their job.
In Philadelphia, our police have a far more difficult job. They've volunteered to serve and protect the people of a city plagued by crime. They patrol our streets every day, confront violent criminals, give their all to keep citizens safe and secure.
In order to successfully complete their mission, police officers sometimes have to be aggressive when chasing down violent offenders -- especially when they're armed and dangerous.
The police will get nowhere by being "Mr. Nice Guy" with hardcore criminals. And if they aren't aggressive enough, and the criminal evades arrest often enough, the community will cry that the police aren't doing the job.
On the flip side, when police act in a overly aggressive manner to apprehend suspects, they're often accused of brutality, even called criminals themselves.
Being a police officer in Philadelphia is an often thankless job -- damned if they do and damned if they don't. Our police officers just can't win.
I've sometimes been an admirer of the Rev. Al Sharpton. I supported his outrage in the Sean Bell case, in which New York City police officers fired 50 rounds at an unarmed man, killing him the night before his wedding -- a true atrocity.
But for Sharpton to come to Philadelphia in an obvious attempt to stir up racial tensions and demonize our police officers is unforgivable.
Sharpton actually visited the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility to meet and pray with a convicted felon facing new charges of aggravated assault and attempted murder.
To add insult to injury, he trashed our police department upon his departure.
If Sharpton will meet and pray with criminal suspects with previous felony convictions, why didn't he also meet with the accused officers, hear their side of the story, and pray with them?
I thought Sharpton was a man of religion. In that sense, shouldn't he be somewhat forgiving? Obviously not, because the word of a convicted felon is the only one that counted.
When I was an infantry soldier walking the streets of Baghdad, I was often in contact with insurgents constantly attempting to take my life and the lives of my fellow soldiers.
So I know what it's like to have to chase down ruthless armed individuals who are fully willing and capable of killing you in order to get away. If you've never been in that position, think twice before you "armchair quarterback" our police officers.
If there's ever a time when I'm in distress as the victim of a crime, I'll be the first to call the police for help. If that day should come, I hope that the police will be appropriately aggressive and as fast as possible when coming to my aid.
Philadelphia should not jump to conclusions and condemn the officers involved in the arrests of the night of May 5th. Instead, we should wait for all the facts of the case from police, suspects and witnesses. There may be more to this story than the raw footage reveals.
In the meantime, I'll be thanking every Philadelphia police officer that I encounter.
After all, I never know when I'll need their help. I fully support the brave police officers who selflessly serve the people of Philadelphia.
I FULLY UNDERSTAND THAT I'M MAKING NO FRIENDS WITH THIS PIECE -- HOWEVER, PHILLY IS PLAGUED WITH CRIME. AND I MISS NOVA , AND PHILLY'S COPS HAVE A TOUGH TOUGH JOB. SO I STAND BY EVERY SINGLE WORD.
I've got sympathy for cops, particularly street beat cops that have to deal with dangerous idiots on a regular basis. But I don't have an ounce of sympathy for a cop that can't manage to obey the law any better than the lawbreaker he's beating.
You may have led a life that makes the police the people you want to call to keep you safe. Others of us have had very different experiences. I think it would serve us all well to remember that there's no bright line (and that includes the thin blue one) which makes it safe to assume things here.
(And forget Sharpton. He's an inconsequential joker. Best ignored.)
From where I sit here in NoVa most of the officers in my cases show restraint most of the time; however, I've heard complaints many times of warrantless stops and demands for information, of searches based on a flimsy "somebody matching your description (usually black/hispanic/asian wearing blue jeans and a black tee shirt) was seen looking in cars at the dealership down the street", of obstinate defendants being placed with their hands cuffed behind their backs in a police wagon, unsecured by seat belts, and driven pell mell over the hills and around sharp corners as they rattled around the back of the wagon. For years my son would complain that every time he walked down the street at night with a black or hispanic friend the cops would come, cuff everyone behind the back with plastic ties, and conduct investigations - demanding to know who they were, where they were going, and why they were going there. They were frequently cursed at and sometimes handled roughly. My son once showed me a bruise in the center of his chest from where the officer kept poking his finger. No one had committed any crime. They were just stirring stuff up because it's a known gang area.
I remember once being at the scene of a minor accident, and when the responding officer arrived I approached to tell him what had happened. He was fairly new and didn't recognize me. I was shocked when he pointed a finger and bellowed angrily at me that I'd better step back and shut up or he'd have me arrested for "interfering with the investigation." I'm a middle-aged white woman. Just how was this guy treating the young minority males he was meeting if he could do that to someone who probably looked a bit like his mother?
Power corrupts, and when the people who wield that power are excused because their jobs are tough, and the explanation is that the public should see it from the officers' point of view as if that excuses a person who wields the massive power of the police department from accountability for an excessive response, then no one is safe and the ultimate goal of rendering the community safer CANNOT be achieved.
As for Sharpton, I've never forgiven him for his disgusting actions during the Tawana Brawley matter, and as far as I'm concerned he's all about maximizing his power and influence and not about justice, so it matters not that he supported the thugs and not the police. I just wish the news outlets would stop interviewing him so he can go out and get a real job and pay his million dollar slander/libel judgment to the prosecutor and cops in that case.
Whatever happens so be it.