F**k the Police

This week, I read some outrageous news stories regarding police misconduct. The first story involves an incident in New Mexico. As reported in the Daily News,

New Mexico state troopers attacked a vehicle with gunfire and a nightstick as a family of six was inside in a wild video released by authorities.

The incident occurred on a highway near Taos, N.M., on Oct. 28 when a Tennessee woman named Oriana Ferrell was pulled over for driving 71 mph in a 55 mph zone, reported TV Station KRQE. Ferrell had five children in her minivan, ages 6 to 18.

But according to the dashboard video released by authorities Friday, a heated argument between a trooper and the mother ultimately led to her 14-year-old son confronting the officer and the trooper using a baton to try to break into the vehicle after ordering Ferrell to exit.

A second trooper later emerged and fired shots at the minivan's tires as Ferrell sped away and led police on a chase.

Remember, this whole incident stems from a simple speeding violation. There is no excuse for the police officer's action. There was no rational basis for that officer to fire shots at a van full of children. That officer could have killed one or more of the children in that van. He displayed a reckless disregard for human life. Unfortunately, police around his country do not value black life. We are expendable and worthless in their eyes.

The next story involves that Grosse Pointe police harassing and humiliating black men. As reported in Motor City Muckraker,

Grosse Pointe Park police officers are capturing humiliating photos and videos of black men and texting them to friends and family, the Motor City Muckraker has found.

One of the main culprits is Officer Mike Najm, who texted a picture of a black man in the back of a trailer and typed, “Gotta love the coloreds.” In one video, Najm can be heard telling a mentally ill black man to sing.

Most of the videos are shot from squad cars while African American men are told to sing or “dance like a chimp.” Some of the subjects are even in the back of police cars.

The next story involves claims of police brutality in Bucks County. As reported on Philly.com,

WAS 14-YEAR-OLD Joseph Williams "brutally tortured" by Bucks County cops, as his mother alleges. Or did the ninth-grader take a nasty spill on his face when he was shot with a stun gun while fleeing police?

The Internet wants to know.

A grisly photo that Marissa Sargeant posted on Facebook on Friday - her son's swollen, bloody face after a shoplifting arrest last week in Tullytown Borough - went viral over the weekend and had been shared more than 43,000 times as of last night.

Supporters are demanding justice, calling it a horrific case of police brutality and comparing it to the Rodney King beating.

"The picture speaks 1,000 words. They brutally beat him," Sargeant said yesterday in her Levittown apartment. "If he did fall on his face, why does he have scrapes and bruises all over his whole face, everywhere. Why is his nose broken? Why is his nostril lifted off his face? Why is both of his eyes black and swollen?"

Sargeant said Williams is embarrassed to go outside or see people he knows, so he covers his face.

The police are suppose "to protect and serve." Sadly, that slogan does not reflect our experience with the police. Far too often, the police harass, humiliate, beat, shoot and kill innocent black people. Shooting at a van full of children over a freaking speeding ticket? Making black people sing and act like chimps? Really?

Every time police abuse occurs, we are told that it is an isolated incident. We are told that there are just "a few bad apples." To hell with "a few bad apples." There are plenty of bad, rotten, sinking, worm infested apples. In fact, the whole damn tree's core is decayed and festering with the pus of racism. In the words of NWA, f**k the police.