The Blue Wall of Silence Among Police Enables Cop Brutality

[Tom Joad]

Something to keep in mind when you hear the Police Department's "Official Version" of what transpired during any given event.

Here's an excerpt.

In a February 2011 piece in Reason magazine titled “Why Cops Aren’t Whistleblowers” Radley Balko wrote about the case of Barron Bowling, who was awarded $830,000 “for the beating he suffered at the hands of a Drug Enforcement Administration agent in Kansas City, Kansas.” According to Balko, “U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson went out of her way to acknowledge another victim in the disgraceful affair: Kansas City police detective Max Seifert.”

The case revolved around a horrific unprovoked beating Bowling suffered at the hands DEA agent Timothy McCue, who beat Bowling “to the point of inflicting brain damage.” McCue claimed Bowling resisted arrest. According to Balko, witnesses gave statements that “McCue threatened to kill Bowling, whom he called ‘white trash’ and a ‘system-dodging inbred hillbilly.’”

Balko: “McCue, the DEA, and officers of the Kansas City Police Department then conspired to cover up the beating. Bowling was charged with leaving the scene of an accident and assaulting McCue with his car during the collision. He was later acquitted on those charges but convicted of possessing drug paraphernalia—a marijuana pipe police found in his car. Witness statements incriminating McCue for both the accident and the beating were lost or destroyed, as were photos of the damage McCue inflicted on Bowling’s face.”

And that is where Officer Seifert stepped in, Balko reported: He “took the witness statements that implicated McCue. He documented Bowling’s injuries and testified for Bowling in his lawsuit. He actively fought the cover-up.”

Because of his willingness to stand up, Seifert was forced into early retirement, “lost part of his pension and his retirement health insurance. … [and] was ‘shunned, subjected to gossip and defamation by his police colleagues, and treated as a pariah,’ [Judge] Robinson said. ‘The way Seifert was treated was shameful.’”

The full article is here.

[Boreas]

This is nothing new. Many, many LEOs (my guess is around a third*) enter "law enforcement" because they can get away with doing shit that would land them in the slammer if they were "civilians".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Serpico

*My further guess is about a third of that third are indistinguishable from Vic Mackey.

John

[Ike Bana]

What does whether it's anything new have to do with it? Because it's old, recurring news we should just shrug it off, I suppose.

The Chicago Bar Attack Incident:

On April 30, 2007 a lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against the city of Chicago and (Anthony) Abbate and several other individuals by attorneys representing (Karolina) Obrycka. On November 13, 2012, a federal jury found that a "widespread code of silence" within the Chicago Police Department had allowed Abbate to feel that he could attack Obrycka without fear of reprisal. They also found that Abbate participated in a conspiracy to cover up the attack. The jury awarded Obrycka $850,000 in damages.

The fact that this "blue curtain" shit has been treated as "old news" for so long is a primary reason why Karolina Obryka had the spit beaten out of her. Fatass Anthony, and others like him, figure the blue curtain gives them carte blanche to act in any malicious way that pleases them.

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by Ike Bana

What does whether it's anything new have to do with it? Because it's old, recurring news we should just shrug it off, I suppose.

You're a very silly person.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQfhk-4ayt0

[Ike Bana]

Originally Posted by Boreas

You're a very silly person.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQfhk-4ayt0

You don't want to stay on topic? Big fucking surprise. If this gets worse...the flaming started above.

[Ike Bana]

One other thing about the blue curtain. Say in the Abbate case that some good samaritan decided he was sick of watching this and gave this fat fuck the ass whipping of a lifetime for his behavior. Anthony's pals on the job would have been up this guy's ass for the rest of his life. So when the public sees some off-duty asshole cop brutalizing some innocent person...who's gonna step in? Nobody who wants to continue to have a life in the city where they live.

[Tom Joad]

Originally Posted by Ike Bana

What does whether it's anything new have to do with it? Because it's old, recurring news we should just shrug it off, I suppose.

I meant to post in in "other", but somehow I screwed up and put it in current events. It's an old problem, but it's still ongoing.

[Ike Bana]

Originally Posted by Tom Joad

I meant to post in in "other", but somehow I screwed up and put it in current events. It's an old problem, but it's still ongoing.

My comment was in response to John. You don't owe anybody an explanation. Your OP was just fine. John just apparently knows better than everybody about the importance, timliness, or appropriateness of every post.

[Tom Joad]

Originally Posted by Ike Bana

My comment was in response to John. You don't owe anybody an explanation. Your OP was just fine. John just apparently knows better than everybody about the importance, timliness, or appropriateness of every post.

I know, I was just clarifying, not explaining. Since I like both you and Boreas I'm gonna stay on the sidelines of your feud. Same with you and Don.

However if Finn sticks his pointy little nose in it, that's different.

[Ike Bana]

Originally Posted by Tom Joad

I know, I was just clarifying, not explaining. Since I like both you and Boreas I'm gonna stay on the sidelines of your feud. Same with you and Don.

However if Finn sticks his pointy little nose in it, that's different.

I will keep this in mind.