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In support of Police Accountability

Furat Al-Samaraie | 25.11.2003 11:28 | Repression | Social Struggles | London

A response to an article seen on Indymedia defending police brutality. This is a detailed response to an issue we face all too often. The police need to be accountable to prevent teh arrival of a fascist state.

"On July 6, Inglewood, Calif. Police Officer Jeremy Morse was videotaped placing teenager Donovan Jackson onto the trunk of a patrol car and punching him one time after the teenager grabbed the officer in the groin area. Within days, civil rights activists, community leaders, politicians and protestors amassed on the streets of Inglewood demanding that Officer Morse be fired and immediately jailed before investigations into the incident had barely begun."

I guess you want people to sit around and do nothing while an investigation took place. First, don't you think that the existence of a videotape makes the investigation meerely a formality? I guess you don't. You seem to be quite happy with the 'he did it'-'no I didn't'-'did too'-'did not' scenario. Just because this is the intellectual level of most rednecks, doesn't mean the whole world is unable to operate at a higher level. We liek to take things a bit more seriously.

I wonder why you are sa amazed at the impatience of the residents- surely an investigation would see justice done? Just because you were satisfied with the not guilty verdict of the Rodney King case, doesn't mean everyone else is. People weren't gonna do nothing and obediently wait for a biased investigation to clear their buddy cop.

"In addition, unfounded allegations of racism and police brutality ran rampant and the threat of another L.A. riot loomed when shouts of "no justice, no peace" rang out from the protestors."

See Rodney King reference above.


"As you may have noticed, the press and news organizations were very biased and unfair to the police officers involved. The videotape was shown repeatedly, but hardly ever put into context with the entire incident."

And the context is.......?

"The incident was inaccurately portrayed as a "beating" and "pummelling" and irresponsibly compared to the Rodney King incident."

Exactly how should it be portrayed? As a friendly joke? As a normal arrest according to police procedure? What exactly would you comapre it to? A bowling match? An interior decorating show? The Weakest Link? Or to another incident where police officers were accused of using excessive force, but were caught on camera?

"This type of inflammatory coverage did nothing but incite the anger of many people and literally put the police officers personal safety in jeopardy. This is inexcusable."

What kind of emotions do you expect actions like this to arouse? Love? Brotherhood? Feelings of security? And blaming the video itself for the anger viewers felt is primitive thinking. Bullets aren't held responsible for their actions- the person who pulls the trigger is. In this case, it is clearly the people abusing their authority and attacking a defenceless person.

"As a result of this unwarranted behavior, Officer Morse is being charged with assault under the color of authority for which he faces a one to three year jail term and a $10,000 fine, he is listed as one of many defendants in a blatantly inflated civil rights lawsuit, he has been fired by the Inglewood Police Department and it still has yet to be determined if he will be federally prosecuted for civil rights violations."

Maybe you should say "As a result of HIS unwarranted behaviour,,,,"


"Note that one juror had initially voted not guilty, but had been swayed to vote guilty."

What a crime! A juror changed his mind!

"The evidence presented at the trial disproves that Jeremy Morse's actions were criminal."

So the videotape proves what exactly?

"But "the community" is still demanding that this innocent police officer be jailed.."

Why do you use quotation marks for the community?

"....and the DA is allowing "the community" to call the shots."

Wow, what an outlandish idea, what will happen to the will of the people, and the rights of the citizens? We should not let the community decide anything.

This one is great: "Officer Bijan Darvish has been charged with filing a false police report simply for stating that officers "assisted Jackson to his feet and had him stand facing the police vehicle." If you look at the tape, you will see Officer Darvish looking down at the time Donovan Jackson was placed on the trunk of the patrol car."

So Darvish says he saw officers helping Jackson to his feet, but the video evidence shows that he did NOT see that. Buddy-boy, that is called a lie. Are you familiar of the concept of being honest? Well the law applies to your beloved cops as well. By the way, that's really great policing, looking at the floor. More suited to the actions of little boys isn't it? What dio we pay our taxes for anyway? Was he looking for lost change?

"Unfortunately, this is not the first time that a police officer has been the victim of the judicial system caving into pressures and threats applied by certain special interest groups and it will not be the last."

Yeah, in some countries the poice are not responsible to the citizenry, and can do anything they like without fear of being held accountable. In some places like the US and in Europe, people are fighting this. In Iraq, people had no choice. I take it you support the way things were done in Iraq then? How about the way things are done in Occupied Palestine, where soldiers are allowed to shoot civilians without having to face an inquiry? How about the way concentration camp guards the world over had the right to dispose of prisoners as they saw fit?
By the way sunshine, this 'caving in' as you call it will not be the last.

"Under no circumstances should the fate of a police officer, or the policies that govern them be determined by a small group of people and certainly not by a mob of angry protestors."

They were in the past, they are at the present, and they will be in the future. Just because the interest of the people conflict with the interest of the priveliged few, doesn't mean it is justified. The priveliged few have had their asses kicked throughout history. Ever heard of the French Revolution?



"It will further jeopardize the safety of police officers, thereby jeopardizing the safety of each and every one of us."

It seems to me like removing these police officers actually helps ensure my safety, rather than jeopardising it.

"There are many people eager to stand up and criticize the many fine men and women that work in law enforcement. While it is true that some bad people do end up in a police uniform, that too can be said about people in just about every profession. Why then should we assume that all police officers are bad just because some of them are guilty of innappropriate behavior? The answer is that we should not. There are too many good and decent people working in law enforcement to consider them all bad based on the inappropriate behavior of a few."

So you admit that they are not infallible, but don't want the individuals to be held responsible. Sounds like a good job then. Except you are confusing the role of monarch with that of police officer. By the way, nobody says that all police officers are bad people. When did you make that up?


"Al Sharpton has likened the shooting of Amadou Diallo to a firing squad."

While I am not Sharpton's biggest fan, what would you call a hail of 41 bullets?


"In most cases, the only people that have any reason to fear the police are the people that are breaking the law."

Is this good enough for you? To me '.. in most cases.." is not good enough. And you want to give them immunity from investigation? See the weblink below for info on what could happen.
 http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100localnews/content_objectid=13581833_method=full_siteid=50002_headline=-A-dozen-Midland-police-in-BNP-name_page.html

Furat Al-Samaraie
- e-mail: kroolca@hotmail.com

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  1. hold the police to account — kurious