Enough is Enough!!!

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has been devastating for New Orleans residents. Where once there were homes and shops enriched with culture, is now a place of debris and abandoned cars, for many a world turned upside down. Feelings of destitution and sadness linger on with a constant reminder that this city will never be the same, and just when one thinks that things can not get any worse the New Orleans police department rears its ugly head.

Robert Davis, a retired school teacher, was beat to a pulp by a handful of New Orleans police officers. Although these officers were suspended with out pay and await trial in January, it is disheartening to watch the obvious misconduct of police officers once again. This particular police department has been plagued with crooked cops who can not seem to keep their hands clean, and have been notorious for harassing the poor working class black communities.

Use of excessive force, particularly against minorities, has been a regular fixture in police departments across the nation. According to Human Rights Watch, an organization that defends human rights world wide, problems that contribute to excessive use of force by police officers in the US are weak civilian reviews, leadership failure within police departments, as well as passivity on criminal prosecutions. It is not uncommon to find watch-dog programs like civilian reviews under-funded by city government. These programs should be an integral part in all police departments, unfortunately the powers that be cast them on the sideline. Police administrators, who are responsible for addressing problems of police brutality, have established a pattern of not taking these issue seriously enough, therefore contributing to sloppy and incomplete investigations. Lastly, criminal prosecutors are very unlikely to prosecute police officers who have committed human rights violations due to help they have received in the past in prosecuting criminal cases. With all these factors combined it is no wonder some police officers feel more than comfortable disregarding a code of ethics, proceeding with unnecessary violence.

Just recently there has been much controversy over the use of Tasers. There has been little to no regulation on the usage of these stun guns by police officers despite the growing number of fatalities. Tasers have contributed to 77 deaths nation wide, and according the ACLU 15 of these deaths have been in northern California. An ACLU study revealed that out of 54 law enforcement agencies in northern California only 4 regulated the use of this 50,000 volt weapon on a person. Issues such as under regulation and lack of accountability have become a systemic problem within all police departments.

Reform is greatly needed in today’s police task force. Without change to its current infrastructure I have no reason to believe the beatings will cease. I was always under the impression that police officers were put in place to keep the peace, to serve and protect. Lately it seems these highly regarded principles have been thrown out by the waste side and consequently contribute to a general mistrust between civilians and police officers. On the flip side, there are good police officers who really care about making our society a better place to live, however, with incidences of unjust violence reoccurring frequently it becomes unbearable to tolerate anymore. It is time to revamp the system and demand better. Local elections are just around the corner, I encourage all to take this serious issue up with their local officials. What kind of society are we living in if we fear the very people who are supposed to be protecting us?

Guest Blogger: Open Letter to the Mercury News Re: the San Jose Police

This is a topic that I don't even think you (when I say you I mean the media) or mainstream (white) San Jose have any idea of this serious problem. This is a long known fact this discussed and despised in the black community for years now.

First of all I would like to say as an African American living in San Jose driving downtown at night is a no no (everyone black knows that) you would most definately be pulled over searched, detained and harrassed. What's so interesting about this issue is that if you go to predominately black cities such as Detroit, Washington D.C, Chicago, Atlanta, Brooklyn, Philadelphia even in Oakland (where the crime rate is in many cases several times of what San Jose is) you would never see this type of behavior or abuse by the police department.

I am just absoluteley appalled when I go downtown to a black club and when you walk outside it's a scene out of Beirut or Baghdad with police barricade and roadblocks and police in riot gear, DO THEY EVEN KNOW HOW INTIMIDATING THAT CAN BE, what ever good time you had is know gone because you know have to face a very abusive and angry egotistical SJPD as if there were some terroist act that just happeneded. It also very embarrassing (I had my brother and his family in from Atlanta) and we went out dancing and we were treated like criminals yelled at by the police and rushed and made to walk out our way to our awaiting vehicles.

There first questions was; "Is that bad here where the police have to use those type of tactics"? my reply was this is suppose to be America's safest big city" as it proclaims. Unfortunately that tag, catch phrase, marketing ploy for the City's Chamber of Commerce comes at a very very stiff price for African American's residing in San Jose. As someone who has literally resided around the world as well as the United States having spent 10 years in the military and haviing lived the sailors life of partying, clubs and bars, San Jose has to be the worst enriornment for African Americans to have entertainment not just in the U.S. but the entire world because of the overwhelming abuse and harrassment the the SJPD. NO CITY AND I REPEAT AND REPEAT IT LOUD NO CITY ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH TREATS THE CLUB AND ENTERTAINMENT PATRONS LIKE THIS (AFRICAN AMERICAN) WHO MAKE UP LESS THAN 4% OF THE POPULATION.

Again, I have lived in cites such asAtlanta, Chicago, Mississippi, Dallas, Orlando, Sacramento, Oakland, Las Vegas and San Diego, Japan and Europe in many case these cities where predomintely minority or black and had more poverty and more social challenges, but still did not resort to these tacts. Is SJ that bad were we need to treat our citizens this way? If it is and successful why don't Detroit, Wash DC, Atlanta, Baltimore where SJ's crime rate is a fraction of theses cities resort to this? I have never witnessed anything like this. Even more telling, this the financial abuse, if you and your team would just go out there and see police camped out for 2 hours DOING NOTHING BUT WAITING FOR THE CLUB TO END.

They just sit there for around 12:00 to 2:00AM doing nothing. How much does this cost the city taxpayers of San Jose, how much of this ridiclious overtime is being abused by the SJPD they do NOTHING BUT SIT THERE FOR 2 HOURS, ATTEMPTING TO INCITE INCIDENTS FOR JUSTIFICATION FOR THIS. How much of this money could go to our school or after school programs for kids where the money would be better served.

I and know one I know that is black would dare to spend a dime in downtown SJ anymore, it's been like this for sometime, it's about time someone has brought light on this issue. Most African Americans in SJ go to Oakland an SF for entertianment where they know they won't be harrassed after having good time and police blows their night. Thanks again for your article, we needed it...

Sincerely,
Maximino Alcaraz