Years ago, I wrote a series of articles warning that (a) the continued militarization of America’s police departments, (b) the glorification of police, © blanket protection of police through policies like qualified immunity, (d) not doing anything about the FBI’s warning that white supremacists and skinheads had invaded police departments,(which were already veritable white supremacists clubs) and other issues, would create a situation that would destabilize American society.
That time has been here for years. The lower courts are forced to do the same through repeated pro-police rulings, and the nation’s highest court refuses to discontinue the policy of qualified immunity.
Citizens across the country, particularly citizens of color, are at the mercy of entire police departments, many operating outside the laws.
In California’s Los Angeles County, Sheriff Alex Villanueva heads a department that has been accused of having gangs of Gang member officers all tattooed up operating in the open for years.
According to whistleblower members, they are alleged to brutalize and kill innocent citizens, after which they meet at special watering holes to celebrate their kills.
Sheriff Alex VillanuevaIna lied that he has seen no evidence of gang activity in his department despite other deputies and a long list of citizens testifying that this problem exists. It is either of two things Villanueva is scared shitless of the thugs who operate right under his nose, or he is a part of that criminal gang.
Naming or singling out a particular police department when we talk about criminal conduct or police violence is an effort in futility. It is much easier to name a single department that operates not as a criminal enterprise or allows racism to exist within its ranks.
https://knock-la.com/lasd-gangs-little-devils-wayside-whities-cavemen-vikings/
Writers and activists try to expose their crimes occasionally; however, their unions feed the public feed an adoring white population with the same tired old narrative about how difficult their jobs are and how unappreciated they are.
In the end, nothing gets done because the police were created to keep blacks in their place. Today, police operate with the same barbarism and brutality when dealing with people of color as they operated when they were called slave patrols.
Until and unless the primitive neanderthal violence that police represent becomes a major issue for white people, it will remain a part of life that people of color must deal with daily.
Even when they are forced to wear body cameras, they [still]operate with a sense of disdain and disrespect for the public that is not just shocking but appalling to someone like me who spent a decade in law enforcement.
Here is an example of that, an Aurora, Colorado police department thug in uniform pistol-whipping a young black man, not just bloodying him but leaving huge contusions on his face, and for absolutely no reason at all, not that this level of violence could ever be justified under any circumstances.
This is the so-called police department that murdered 23-year-old Elijah McClain as he walked home from a convenience store.
Aurora criminals in uniform tackled McClain to the ground, put him in a carotid hold, and called first responders, whom they then instructed to inject Elijah with ketamine. The young man had a heart attack on the way to the hospital and died days later after being declared brain dead.
Elijah McLain’s crime was walking home after going to the store.
Unfortunately, according to a supreme court doctrine(qualified immunity), criminals like these can avoid facing the full force of the law criminally and civilly.
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Mike Beckles is a former Police Detective, businessman, freelance writer, black achiever honoree, and creator of the blog mikebeckles.com.