Laquan McDonald: Another Black Teen Murdered, Another City Administration's Cover Up
- Details
- Category: Justice
- Published: Wednesday, 25 November 2015 23:06
- Written by Pam Keith
by Pam Keith - Candidate for U.S. Senate
Just when I think I can't be any more outraged at the prevalence of police shootings, just when I am sure that I have maxed out in terms of shock, sadness and outrage, something happens to make me even MORE enraged. The video of the shooting of Laquan McDonald is shattering. It shows an officer shooting a young man SIXTEEN TIMES, who was nowhere near the officer, not lunging or making any threatening move, and .....several other officers on the scene WHO DID NOTHING!!!!
No, that's wrong, they didn't do nothing . . . . THEY LIED!! They blatantly and boldly lied about what
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happened. Their story was that Laquan had a knife, and was lunging at the officer who shot him. The video proves this story to be a bald-faced lie. If the officers on scene didn't lie themselves, they permitted a lie to be advanced. Every officer on that scene KNEW that what was in the report of events, and what was being sold to the public, was a lie. EVERY ONE OF THEM KNEW IT!! It wasn't bad enough that none of these officers tried to stop the officer who was shooting. It wasn't bad enough that they didn't rush to give Laquan emergency medical care. It wasn't bad enough that they didn't tackle the shooting officer after the fact, and take his gun. On top of all of those failures and errors in judgment, they LIED!
Some may think that such lies are part and parcel of officers having each other's backs. That such is to be expected in a tight-knight unit. That it is standard procedure for police to corroborate for each other, because some day, the favor may need to be returned.
But that is WRONG! In the military, a service member can and will be punished for a failure to report misconduct (or for lying about what happened) just as quickly as for engaging in the misconduct itself. Does this principle not apply in police departments? I would think so, and I am sure it is so in many police departments. Which leads me to have serious questions about the leadership of this particular department, where, according to news accounts, 99% of complaints against officers are dismissed.
related:On The Legacy of Perceived Menace
How has the culture of this police unit, station or department gotten to the point where THAT many people could lie and feel safe in doing so? But for the FOIA request of the journalist in this case, NONE of this would have come to light, and it is doubtful that murder charges against the officer would have ever been filed. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN??? It is high time that we stop simply throwing rogue officers under the bus, and start looking carefully at the leaders who create cultures of dishonesty, violence and lawlessness in police departments.
If the shooting officer is convicted of murder, will the other officers on scene be charged as accessories to murder? Will the police chief be charged as well? Maybe they should be.
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Pam Keith is running for the office of US Senate and deserves your considerations. http://pamkeithforsenate2016.com/ |