Comment More to this than just that. (Score 1) 1128
"We need those attitudes and policies changed by lawmakers, the problem isn't that Police are acting badly, its that they are allowed to act badly."
And that the Justice system is designed/manipulated to protect THEM when they do behave "badly", as you put it.
Here is another bit of information you should all digest, a quote from NPR: ( http://www.npr.org/2014/08/25/ )
"To understand some of the distrust of police that has fueled protests in Ferguson, Mo., consider this: In 2013, the municipal court in Ferguson--a city of 21,135 people--issued 32,975 arrest warrants for nonviolent offenses, mostly driving violations."
Now, if most of those people with warrants for driving offenses are black (Ferguson is 67.4% black, according to the 2010 census), and these warrants preclude them from serving on a Grand Jury (they do), then how is it possible to get a fairly balanced jury of one's peers? In short, the Ferguson Police Department handing out tickets to mostly black residents precludes black residents from ever serving on a Grand Jury, or any jury for that matter, in effect stacking the deck against them, racially speaking. A black person in Ferguson is fucked before they ever even reach a courtroom, and white folks have got it easy as the deck is ALWAYS stacked in their favor.
A similar situation exists where I live because there are NINE overlapping legal jurisdictions in terms of law enforcement--fully 5% of the population here is law enforcement (I live near a border, and as a result fall under the jurisdiction of local law-enforcement, County law-enforcement, State law-enforcement and numerous federal agencies including ICE, Border Patrol, FBI, DEA and DHS.). You cannot put together a jury here that isn't 5% (or more) law-enforcement, in effect stacking the deck against anyone being tried in a criminal court, as other jurors tend to believe them even when, during jury selection, those same officers said they would always believe a cop over anyone else, regardless of content. And yes, I actually heard several cops state that during jury selection when I was called up for jury duty. As a result of hearing this before I was questioned, I stated at that time I thought the cards stacked against any defendant...and was dismissed from jury duty.
The cards were stacked against Justice in Ferguson, and in favor of Darren Wilson. This shit needs to change.
For what it's worth, I'm white (or Caucasian...whatever makes you feel better about yourself).
