- Can
a Good Cop Have a Bad Mouth?
- Does a bad-mouthed cop, by definition,
exercise bad judgment?
-
Last December, 1998, in Riverside, California,
a nineteen-year-old black woman. Tyisha Miller, sat in an apparent
coma, with a gun on her lap, in a locked car with the motor running.
Her companions called 911, and four police officers arrived, three
white and one Hispanic. The woman appeared to be in medical distress.
Apparently time was of the essence. The cops tried yelling at her,
banging on the window, and shining a flashlight. No response. One
cop shattered a window in an attempt to remove the gun, so that Miller
could receive medical help. But something happened. Either she moved
or one or more cops thought she moved, and the police opened fire,
shooting at her nearly two dozen times, striking her twelve times.
She died.
Some witnesses claim the officers seemed jubilant
after the shooting, high-fiving each other, and making racially insensitive
remarks. After an investigation, the Riverside Police Department fired
four officers, presumably, at least in part, because of post-shooting
remarks and behavior. The shooting remains under investigation by
the U.S. Attorney’s office, the California State Attorney General’s
office, and the County Grand Jury.
The remarks allegedly made by the officers included
referring to the victim as a "bitch," and stating that the
growing gathering of despondent blacks at the scene reminded one of
a "Kwanzaa" festival. These remarks, according to some "black
activists," prove that the cops acted unlawfully.
But punishing the officers for crass remarks
does not answer the central question: did the cops exercise defensible
judgment when they shot the nineteen-year-old black woman? Did the
cops act in a "racist" manner because their language betrays
a "devaluing" of the life of a black woman?
How many of us know cops? How many of us appreciate
the stress they operate under, the second-guessing, the armchair quarterbacking
from some who watch too many episodes of "NYPD Blue"? How
many of us could get up in the morning, not knowing whether we would
return alive, having spent a day willing to take a bullet for somebody
we don’t even know? Police report higher than average rates of divorce,
alcoholism, and stress. At any given time, a cop’s radio could boom,
"Officer down." Ever heard of "accountant down,"
or "hotel concierge down"?
Cops are not choirboys. Pick up any Joseph Wambaugh
novel. Cop talk reeks of swagger, denunciations, insensitivity, incivility,
and profanity. Cops’ vocabulary include a demeaning term for every
race, religion, ethnicity, and place of origin, as well as for each
gender. Cops use a general, one-size-fits-all term for a "suspect."
It begins with "a" and ends with "hole."
Do the Riverside cops’ alleged use of racially
insensitive remarks mean, in and of itself, that the young black woman’s
rights were denied? Consider the case of Mark Fuhrman, vilified by
the O.J. Simpson "dream team" for racism. On tape, in a
discussion with a screenwriter, Fuhrman uses the term "nigger"
numerous times, and talks about brutality against black suspects.
The "L.A. Times," however, interviewed
minorities with whom Fuhrman worked. The "Times" found little
to support "dream team" lawyer Johnnie Cochran’s comparison
of Fuhrman to Hitler.
The "L.A. Times" said, "Sergeant
Ed Palmer, an African-American who first met Fuhrman at the West Los
Angeles station [the previous] year, said: ‘I am as shocked as anybody...If
Mark were a racist and especially as big a racist as he sounded on
the tapes, I would have no trouble telling him he was the scum of
the earth. But I really can’t.’" Sergeant Roberto Alaniz, a Hispanic
whom Fuhrman even requested as a partner, echoed Palmer’s sentiments,
"The Mark Fuhrman I know...is not a racist."
Case closed? Of course not. But let’s avoid
the "rush to judgment" based solely on the cops alleged
offensive remarks.
Did Jesse Jackson’s use of the terms "Hymie"
and "Hymie-town" disqualify him as a civil rights leader?
President Richard Nixon demeaned, among other people, Jews on the
famous Watergate tapes. Yet, Nixon appointed the first Jewish Secretary
of State, with Jews serving as Nixon’s top legal advisor and speechwriter.
President Harry Truman once referred to New York as "Kike-town,"
yet worked tirelessly to help establish the State of Israel.
This does not excuse racist language by a public
servant, especially one with a gun and a badge. Cops using demeaning
language must be disciplined. Remember, cops serve the public, and
people properly demand a minimal level of respect and civility. Racist
cops assuredly exist. And racist cops who perform brutally and unjustly
must be rooted out. But we pick cops from our population, and bad
seeds can and do get through.
Let’s focus on the bottom line. When people
call 911, they first want prompt, professional, and skillful attention.
Crusty language and all. v
According to the instructions in the "Jenny
Jones" case, the judge advised the jury that they need only find
that "Jenny Jones" was a contributing factor to the murder.
Well, so were the tires attached to the wheels attached to the car
driven by the killer to the airport to appear on the show. Let’s sue
Goodyear!
Why didn’t the survivors sue the man who killed
their loved one? That’s easy. Deep pockets, babe.
Well, "Jenny Jones" intends to appeal.
Who knows? Maybe the appellate court might point the finger elsewhere.
Starting, and ending, with the killer.