Journalism / Police Brutality: Alive and Kicking
Police officers are viewed to be the standard of an upright, outstanding citizen, but when they break the law; many officers become as tight-lipped as members of the mob, which can prove to be harmful to the cities they serve.
In July of 2008, officer Patrik Pogan was video taped pushing a cyclist off of his bike during a monthly demonstration by a group known as Critical Mass. Pogan has since been stripped of his badge and gun, and the New York Police Department "placed the officer on desk duty pending the outcome of a department investigation," according to My Fox NY.
The Video since has become a Youtube hit with almost 2 million views.
This incident is reminiscent of the Rodney King case where a video taped act of police brutality brought 4 officers to trial, one of which was acquitted a year later, according to Time.com.
“The Blue Code of Silence” among police officers is the principal that, "an officer does not provide adverse information against a fellow officer,” according to the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, informally known as the Christopher Commission.
This seems to be the case even online. At Policeone.com, the video of Pogan tackling the cyclist has been posted and all of the responses to it are in favor of the cop. One response from “Durco” says, “From what I see in the video, and read in the article, I'm thinking this incident may have started prior to what we see on video. Obstructing traffic and aiming his bike at an officer? You don't see that here, but Officer Pogan seemed to be looking for him specifically. It looks bad, but that's easy to do when you don't have the whole picture.”
According to humanrightswatch.org, “The New York City police force is also notorious for its officers’ silence when misconduct occurs.”
This code of silence proves especially difficult in court cases where another police officer is under trial for misconduct “because officers know some judges are particularly sympathetic toward the police,” according to hrw.org.
The sense of betrayal within the police force is quite strong. Some officers that have spoken up against police misconduct request to be placed on modified duty.
One officer asked to be placed on administrative duty, “because she reportedly feared she would not get back-up in dangerous situations from fellow officers,” according to hrw.org
The New York City police department has their own trials for their officers accused of misconduct. The New York Times reports, “The Police Department patrol guide is the rule of law, and there is no prospect of jail time; instead, officers can be fired.” Numerous watchdog groups, such as Citizens Union, have publicly criticized this method of bringing justice to officers, by officers.
For the most recent police misconduct cases, see the New York state Defenders association at http://www.nysda.org/html/police_misconduct.html.
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In the great Newspapers, when taking on a heated topic, where people are going to have strong opinions before they even start, it is truly important to have both sides of the story in a non-judgemental presentation. That is what make both sides want to read a piece and can get uninterested parties to read and sway their lethargy. Getting quotes from a police officer, especially one who can speak to, and has compassion for both sides of the story, lends this credibility. Not too many people out there have sympathy for the criminal. Yet none of us want our public servants hurting others and breaking the law. Especially in the case of a citizen simply voicing a protest. We love free speech. The title indicates one postion, and a foregone conclusion. I like when I get to draw my own conclusion, but the writer raises the right questions.
Nice.
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In general, you handle this article very well, especially the use of sources. It would, however, be more interesting if you had more information about what happened before the YouTube video (to counter the claims of the police).
Notes:
citizen, but when they break the law; many = citizen; but when . . . law, many … (The semicolon would come between the larger segments.)
video tape = v. videotape adj. videotaped (check throughout)
How can someone be stripped of his badge but still do desk duty? This doesn’t sound right.
2 million = two million
4 officers = four (spell whole numbers out to one hundred, then 101, etc.)
principal = principle (here)
that, “an officer … (no comma after that)
duty, “because … (no comma before because)
according to hrw.org (terminal punctuation missing)
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