Law Enforcement: Usually Great, But Sometimes Awful

As regular readers know, I am a fan of law enforcement. I think “systemic racism” is bullshit, and police officers’ conduct is admirable, or at least defensible, in an overwhelming majority of cases. See, for example, this post and this one. I am unequivocally on the side of law enforcement.

But a few cops, unfortunately, are rotten. We saw that here in Minnesota with Mohammed Noor, who shot an obviously harmless woman who dialed 911, for no apparent reason. Something even worse–but for the fact that no one died–happened in Glendale, Arizona in 2017 when police officers accosted a car full of people who were parked in a hotel lot and, perhaps, not up to much good. But we never learned anything about that, because one of the cops went straight to the authoritarian shtick, and then to the taser. In the end, a guy who never did anything wrong was tased 11 times, including on his private parts after having his pants pulled down.

He was charged with a crime or two, as was his wife, who allegedly struck a police officer over the head with a water bottle. If she did it, good for her. It was the least she should have done, under the circumstances. Here is the video, compiled by a local TV news station from body and dash cam cameras:

Was that sickening to watch, or what? Happily, most people who go into law enforcement are altruistic and want to serve their communities. Unfortunately, some aren’t and don’t. People like the officers involved here should be viewed with contempt and subjected to legal penalties–like Mohammed Noor, if he doesn’t die of old age before coming to trial.

Today, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, a solid conservative, urged re-opening the investigation into the tasing fiasco. He is right. Let’s investigate and punish where punishment is due. Watching the video, it seems blindingly obvious where that is.

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