People
should stop undermining police efforts
Sean
Cocca
One of the things I hate about this state is the way we turn on our police
at the drop of a hat. These men and women routinely put their lives at risk
to ensure our safety.
Now don’t get me wrong; I have had plenty of run-ins with the police
that did not end favorably for me. I have seen more then a few policemen have
an attitude with me when I was trying to be civil.
But I am not one to hold a grudge.
I am also not of the mindset that we, as a society, should be attacking our
police at every turn.
Take, for example, the case of Devin Brown. He was the 13-year-old kid shot
and killed at the end of a police pursuit in February when he backed the car
he was driving toward Los Angeles Police Department Officer Steve Garcia. There
was a huge public outcry after his death and many in the community wanted to
see Garcia fired from the LAPD and criminally charged for Brown’s death.
According to the district attorney’s office, he will not be charged because
Garcia was exposed and had a high risk of being hit by the vehicle driven by
Brown.
This does not mean Garcia will not be disciplined by the LAPD. This only assures
no criminal charges will be filed. Brown’s family has already filed a
wrongful-death civil suit against the LAPD despite the D.A.’s findings.
Many Los Angeles community leaders believe the district attorney made the wrong
decision. Tony Muhammad, head of the western states Nation of Islam, told the
Los Angeles Times the decision would cause “more mistrust of the cops” and
LAPD Chief William Bratton “absolutely needs to fire Garcia.”
I disagree. I believe wholeheartedly the reason people distrust the police
is because of people like Muhammad—people who undermine the authority
of our police departments and marginalize their efforts—people who paint
the police as power hungry, abusive and inhuman.
I am not saying there is never corruption in police departments. But what I
am saying is people like Muhammad are doing a great disservice to society.
The handful of cops who abuse the system are greatly outnumbered by good officers
who live to uphold the law. But, as always, the bad eggs ruin it for everyone
else.
When people think of the LAPD, what comes to mind? Police brutality? Racism?
Profiling? The sad truth is all these and more are routinely brought to mind
when people think about the LAPD. What is usually not thought of is hardworking
people who risk their lives every day to uphold the law.
Let me pose a question to you: If it were around 4 a.m. and you were on the
streets of Los Angeles pursuing a erratically driving vehicle, and that vehicle
stopped, you got out of your car and the vehicle started backing toward you,
what would you do?
If it were me, I probably would have done the same thing Garcia did.
I am not saying it was the right thing to do, but I am not saying it was the
wrong thing to do either. It was a decision Garcia had to make, and given the
circumstances, I do not see a viable alternative. Brown’s death was tragic,
but Garcia was under extreme duress.
We need to respect our police. Mistakes will always be made because humans
are flawed creatures. We must recognize these mistakes when they happen and
work to fix them. What we must not do is over-dramatize the situation and start
playing the blame game. That only leads to the fractionalizing and ultimate
degradation of society.
Sean Cocca is a senior journalism major.
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