Monday, November 27, 2006

QUIS CUSTODIET IPSOS CUSTODES
Means "Who Polices the Police?"


From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

Bloomberg 'deeply disturbed' by fatal shooting


Kelly has said police shot at the car after it drove forward and struck an undercover officer and an unmarked police minivan. The information was based on interviews with witnesses and two officers who did not fire their weapons, he said.

However, Trini Wright, a dancer at the strip club where Bell's bachelor party was held, told the Daily News she was going to a diner with the men and was putting her makeup bag in the trunk of their car when the police minivan appeared.

"The minivan came around the corner and smashed into their car. And they (the police) jumped out shooting," Wright, 28, told the newspaper for Monday editions. "No 'stop.' No 'freeze.' No nothing."

And

The officers' shots struck the men's car 21 times. They also hit nearby homes and shattered windows at a train station, though no residents were injured.

Police thought one of the men in the car might have had a gun, but investigators found no weapons. It was unclear what prompted police to open fire, Kelly said.

According to Kelly, the groom was involved in a verbal dispute outside the club, and one of his friends referred to a gun.

An undercover officer walked closely behind Bell and his friends as they headed for their car. As he walked toward the front of the vehicle, the car drove forward, striking the officer and minivan, Kelly said.

That officer was apparently the first to open fire, Kelly said. He had served on the force for five years. One 12-year veteran fired his weapon 31 times, emptying two full magazines, Kelly said.


And

The department's policy prohibits shooting at moving vehicles states "unless deadly force is being used against the police officers or another person present, by means other than a moving vehicle."

Click here for the rest.

Wow. This is totally over the top. But then, it's only the clear cut, black and white, without a doubt, cases of police misconduct that we actually hear about. The tales of police abuse and corruption that aren't so obvious never make it into the public discourse--generally our society gives the police a very strong benefit of the doubt. But make no mistake about it: the police, who aren't here so much to protect us as to ensure economic security for the overall benefit of the elites who own and run the country, are deeply immersed in a culture of paranoia, authority, and racism, which ensures that horrific events such as this one in New York last weekend will happen again and again, in every city, town, and county in America.

A few questions:

If the car actually did hit this cop, why haven't we heard what his medical condition is? And if he wasn't hurt, why the hell did he think it necessary to open fire?

Why was it necessary to fire fifty shots, especially when the victims were unarmed?

Why was the shooting so wild that it hit nearby homes and a train station? Were these undercover titty-bar cops drunk?

Why did these cops ignore NYPD rules about gunfire at moving cars?

Did the fact that the victims were black have anything to do with it? (Quick and easy answer on which I'd bet a thousand dollars: YES.)

This is sick, sick, sick, and doesn't do a damned thing to make me trust the police any more than I do already, which isn't much. Man, something's got to change.

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