REAL ART HIATUS BEGINS TOMORROW
 
This is the second night in a row that I find myself too exhausted to write or think.  So, I'm starting the end of Real Art act II tomorrow, a bit earlier than I had hoped, but, hey, Tom Tomorrow (who, along with Atrios of Eschaton, also got a blogger's press pass to the DNC; go check him out) did it when he moved; why can't I?
 
Anyway, I want to leave you with one last post for my absence.  I've only glanced at these articles (I make it a Real Art policy to thoroughly read any article to which I link), but they look pretty good, and definitely in keeping with the topics I've been hitting here for two and a half years.  So here you go: another one of those "look out for uncontrolled cop culture" posts.
 
"QUIS CUSTODIET IPSOS CUSTODES"
Means "Who polices the police?" in Latin
 
A Houston Chronicle two part series:
 
1 in 3 police shootings involve unarmed people
 
Law enforcement officers in Harris County have shot 65 unarmed people since 1999, killing 17. These incidents represent more than a third of all local police shootings, but experts call them the most preventable.

After two unarmed teenagers were shot and killed in separate incidents last year, the Houston Chronicle analyzed 189 shootings by officers from 18 local law enforcement agencies in the past 5 1/2 years.

Officers' actions were ruled justified in nearly all of the shootings examined. A shooting can be legally acceptable if an officer believes someone's life is in danger.

But only half of those shot by police carried a gun or a knife. Another 7 percent held another object, such as a screwdriver, a piece of lumber or a pipe.

Nearly once a month, on average, police shot someone who had no weapon.
 
Click here for  the rest.
 
And part two:
 
Since 1999, only 5 police officers have
faced discipline after shooting civilians
 
Across Harris County, law-enforcement officers seldom face discipline or criminal charges in the shootings, according to a Houston Chronicle review of personnel information from 18 local agencies on 193 officers who killed or wounded citizens over the last five years. The study included the review of thousands of pages of personnel files and disciplinary records provided by the agencies, and interviews with dozens of officials.

Since 1999, only five officers faced discipline from their departments after shooting a citizen. Three received reprimands, such as letters in their personnel files. Another received a 16-day suspension after shooting a relative at a bus stop.

Only one of the officers was fired -- though investigations into some recent shootings are pending -- and three were prosecuted.

But the Chronicle review raises questions about several other incidents.

Officers received no discipline in at least four cases when internal investigations, forensic evidence and other inquiries exposed significant inconsistencies in their accounts.
 
And the discipline seems arbitrary.
 
Click here for the rest.  And click here for more on why police culture troubles me so much.
 
And that's it for a week or two: cue the Real Art theme song!
 
"Solfeggio" go!
 
Close curtain and fade to black...
 
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