I’ve argued that police be required to wear cameras on the job — for the sake of both the wrongly used and the wrongly accused.
But ensuring that video is recorded and then, if necessary, used in tandem with other relevant evidence to secure justice doesn’t happen automatically. It requires a culture dedicated to upholding ethical standards of professional conduct.
This culture seems in short supply in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
There, explains the Washington Post, “it is now clear that the police, without provocation, can beat an unarmed young student senseless — with impunity. They can blatantly lie about it — with impunity. They can stonewall and cover it up for months — with impunity. They can express no remorse and offer no apology — with impunity.”
Beverly Woodward, the circuit court judge in the case the Post outlines, should have recused herself because of a conflict of interest. She did not. Then, without explanation, she tossed the case’s one modest conviction — which had been obtained only with great difficulty. The matter would not have stretched even that far had a video of the incident not eventually surfaced, exposing the lies of the officers who pummeled the innocent student.
Suspicious circumstances in the case abound. Radley Balko gives the laundry list.
When corruption is this pervasive in a locale, state or federal government must intervene to reform and prosecute. It should be a lot easier at all levels to prosecute and punish those public officials who commit clear wrongdoing.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
5 replies on “But for a Video”
I’m with you almost 100 percent on this problem. You lose me when you advocate the Feds coming in to correct state or local corruption. Really? You’d clean mud with more mud? If the cops are corrupt and the people who live there want them cleaned up, and want it badly enough, they will organize and clean them up themselves. A corrupt Federal Government cannot be trusted to clean up local affairs.
Nelson Page
San Saba, Texas
It all comes to the same principle, that the government must be help to the same laws and morality as the citizens. There can be no exception. The police must be individually held accountable.
Unnoted in your piece was the fact that there was a $2 Million civil settlement in favor of the student, effectively indemnifying the perpetrators actions with public funds, truly adding additional injury and insult to the taxpayer.
Definitely read all links. How many incidents such as this will it take? Thanks to Paul Jacob and Radley Balko for their efforts to turn on the light.
Unfortunately, this is but one of many such situations that have happened in the somewhat recent past.
We no longer live in an Andy Taylor world.
Why doesn’t the Maryland state government, or the federal DOJ start investigating, inditing, and prosectuing?
Peggy Noonan writes of the “brazenness” of government employees. “The only people who seem to tell the truth now are the people inside the agencies who become whistleblowers.” http://online.wsj.com/articles/the-new-bureaucratic-brazenness-1412288561
The reason they aren’t prosecuted, is because our government has become corrupt, especially at the highest levels. And what crook in government will go after another crook and expose himself to prosecution himself?
It’s sad to say. At least I still believe most citizens and even many government employees are honest and don’t like it. I will be voting, but not for liars. That would rule out voting for the vast majority of Democrat and Republican candidates.