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Two wrongs....

The Field Negro | Posted May 7, 2008 4:53 AM

Something happened here in Philly Monday night that was quite disturbing. Once again some of our boys in blue acted like the gangsters that they are supposed to be protecting us from.

Wain Bennett is a practicing attorney in Philadelphia who blogs at The Field Negro.

I know that I should be posting something about the "O" man's victory tonight, and that I should be congratulating you Obamaholics on a nice win. But sorry, tonight I have something else on my mind.

Now I am going to surprise some folks, but I am pretty much a law and order guy. I know I am opposed to the death penalty, and I believe that felons should be allowed to vote. I believe that society should try to find ways to let felons transition back into the mainstream, and yes, I actually defend people accused of committing crimes. But still, I believe that if you commit a crime and you are found guilty, your ass should do the time. I believe that every citizen should respect the law, and police officers who put their butts on the line to protect me, deserve my utmost respect.

Having said that, something happened here in Philly last night that was quite disturbing. Once again some of our boys in blue acted like the gangsters that they are supposed to be protecting us from. If you haven't seen the video yet, I guarantee you that you will soon. [look here and judge for yourself] It isn't quite Rodney King, but it's bad. And let me be fair to Philly's finest, they just lost one of their own (see my sidebar) when some animal decided to take his life with a high powered assault rifle. So I know that they are on edge. Especially since one of the perpetrators of the crime is still on the loose. Still, it's not excuse to make a piñata out of a bunch of shooting suspects, and ignore all your years of training by letting your raw emotions take over.

So Inspector Ramsey, welcome to Philly, you are going to find that this is not D.C., our cops reflect the attitude of our people, and our people have some serious attitude problems. There are all sorts of issues involved here: Race, neighborhoods, the blue wall camaraderie, and law and order. My city is on edge and it's not even summer yet. Watching the reports of that officer's shooting the other night, broke my heart. And hearing that his last words to bystanders was, "tell my wife I love her", damn near had me tearing up.

But then, watching how his fellow officers behaved after this chase, broke my heart all over again.

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Comments (3)

Jeff
May 7, 2008 10:38 AM

Excellent sentiments, thanks.

Purl Gurl
May 8, 2008 3:37 PM

Wain Bennett adds to reader interest,

"And hearing that his last words to bystanders was, "tell my wife I love her", damn near had me tearing up."

This should serve as a reminder our law enforcement people are not super-human. This should remind people our police are people just like us, families, loved ones and all.

Wain, I agree with your words about a need to stop police brutality, despite your being a lawyer. This type of behavior is wrongful, is unlawful and causes harm to our country. This type of behavior on the part of our police cannot be tolerated. I have written these thoughts of mine, before.

However, like you, Wain, I understand why those police officers reacted so violently. I understand their anger and understand their deep hurt. I feel we should lend some compassion and some understanding. I feel we should not judge them too harshly. Justice will be served and I sincerely hope appropriate justice will be served rather than vindictive justice.

You should offer to defend those police officers, pro bono. This would be for you to stand behind your words and your compassion. Both of us know, though, this will not happen because those officers are already well represented. Nonetheless, you understand my message.

Many here are upset with my expressed delight about those murderous lunatics being given a good beating which, in my view, was merciful restraint. Decades back, in my rural farming community in Oklahoma, those three street gang members would have simply been shot to death. No police investigation, no arrest, no trial, they simply would have been shot dead, right off. This is our traditional Oklahoma sense of justice, "He needed killing."

During my childhood, our rural community enjoyed a zero crime rate.

A story to share to provide a notion of my mind-set. I will be brief. Two local boys burglarize an uncle’s tire shop, my uncle’s hard earned attempt at escaping poverty. They swipe a lot of tires which costs my uncle dearly. This could be overlooked. However, those boys completely vandalize his shop, destroy his business along with customer cars parked inside. This is not to be overlooked. Month later, one of the boys is beaten nearly to death. He flees our county. Short while later, other boy has his right foot blown off with a shotgun. He also flees our county. Over subsequent decades, nothing is ever heard again about those boys.

Our county sheriff declines to investigate the beating, declines to investigate the shooting. He tells our community, "Justice has been served."

This is the type of swift justice taught to me by both my Anglo elders and my Choctaw elders.

Of course, this type of swift justice is unacceptable in our modern world. Today, we must play by the rules or risk anarchy in our country. Still, in the far reaches of the corners of my mind, I find delight in watching murderous street thugs given a good beating, a deserved beating. I am not in the least bit ashamed to share my thoughts, which others elect to keep secret.

Wain, would you be willing to defend, pro bono, those four men who shot down three people on a public street corner? I am sure you would and I am sure you would have reservations secretly stashed away in your mind.

What upsets people here at The Daily Voice is my willingness to discuss issues most would rather keep a secret but do silently acknowledge. Almost all of us do delight in swift justice and almost all of us would rather not admit to this.

I sincerely enjoyed reading your article, Wain. You do give people something to think about, just as I give people something to think about.

Okpulot Taha
Choctaw Nation

Purl Gurl
May 9, 2008 11:14 AM

Some interesting opinions from Philly's own.

---

"I'm in the majority of people who have absolutely had it — had it with shootings, had it with gun violence," O'Brien said. "We just had an officer executed."

"Guess what? Enough is enough," O'Brien said. "People have put me here to do something about it, and I'm going to do something about it."

Jay Quinn, 47, a SEPTA employee who grew up in the Philadelphia area, said the city has turned into "thugland" and citizens need to "line up behind" police. Yes, the officers meted out "a couple of extra hits" on the three shooting suspects, but people need to realize that police are "at their wits' end" in a city that's become a war zone, Quinn said.

"You're out here riding around and you're involved in a shooting and the cops pull you over and you got your ass beat," Quinn said. "You know what? Let me tell you something, when I was growing up, I had my ass kicked by the cops and I deserved it."

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