St. Louis Police Officers Arrested for Beating Undercover Colleague
Recently 3 police officers of the St. Louis Department were indicted for their part in beating a fellow police officer working undercover during a protest in 2017. Ironically, the protest was over a white officer who was acquitted of killing Anthony Lamar Smith several years before. The undercover officer had not been violent nor retaliated in any way.
The officers, who were part of the Civil Disobedience Team, were called out to control the riot. Then they had texted each other expressing excitement over getting to beat protesters. One talked about "beating the hell out of those shitheads.... once nobody can tell us apart"; another reminded the others to have "an old white dude as a witness". Then they acted on those words.
However, what's sad about this case is that had their victim not been an undercover officer, there might never had been justice. Essentially, after dark, many police officers felt that they could beat suspects anonymously without any sort of accountability. So in case I guess it turned out okay. But this just supports the findings of other police brutality cases we have learned about, like Rodney King; in almost every circumstance, the police will prevail, framing themselves with more credibility. Unless, as in this case, their victim is another member of the police.
https://www.npr.org/2018/11/29/672055192/st-louis-police-officers-indicted-for-beating-an-undercover-colleague
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/12/st-louis-police-brutality-stockley/577174/
The officers, who were part of the Civil Disobedience Team, were called out to control the riot. Then they had texted each other expressing excitement over getting to beat protesters. One talked about "beating the hell out of those shitheads.... once nobody can tell us apart"; another reminded the others to have "an old white dude as a witness". Then they acted on those words.
However, what's sad about this case is that had their victim not been an undercover officer, there might never had been justice. Essentially, after dark, many police officers felt that they could beat suspects anonymously without any sort of accountability. So in case I guess it turned out okay. But this just supports the findings of other police brutality cases we have learned about, like Rodney King; in almost every circumstance, the police will prevail, framing themselves with more credibility. Unless, as in this case, their victim is another member of the police.
https://www.npr.org/2018/11/29/672055192/st-louis-police-officers-indicted-for-beating-an-undercover-colleague
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/12/st-louis-police-brutality-stockley/577174/
This is an incredibly depressing issue. The manipulation and unjust utilization of one's power seems to be ever present within multiple police agencies. Furthermore, it seems that the only course of change has been a result of copious amounts of evidence. I hope that police agencies will alter their policies and get rid of the "bad apples" however this will most likely not happen because of the precedent.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Peter, it is very sad to see that the countless acts of violence that the Saint Louis Police Department have continued. I read another blog post about an additional shooting against a black man by the St. Louis police. It seems almost like they are encouraged to enjoy violent actions, as seen through the text messages and the constant awful behavior they exhibit. There is no real consequences, and the reaction from the public is clearly not enough to cause a real change in the system. I think the St. Louis Police Department needs an deep investigation and a change in training methods, as the ones in place now are leading to more and more police brutality.
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