Much has been written this week about police relationships with African-Americans and Hispanics. However, one does not have to be a minority to experience the abuse of power that apparently took place in the Gates matter.
Let me tell you the recent (still ongoing) story of my (white, blond) cousin... and how she ended up behind bars because a police officer decided she had acted "improperly."
My cousin (who is in her 50s) was in a minor fender-bender one town from where she lives. The police came and during the exchange of information the police discovered that her car was not properly registered.
Under NY law, the police acted properly in not allowing her to drive her car at that time. But for reasons that are yet to be determined they handcuffed, threw her in the squad car, took her to police HQs and actually locked her in a cell.
She is the mother of a 13 year old and kept asking to be able to call her daughter. The police told her that her daughter was old enough to take car of herself. She said she needed things from her car, they basically said too bad.
It was a while before they actually allowed her to make a call, which is how I got involved. By the time I called the police department, she had been released but her keys were missing. The police officers insisted they did not have them. They only "discovered" them later -- and decided to give her "special permission" to go to her car and get from it her daughter's books.
At first the police officers attempted to stonewall her when she asked to get a copy of the police report on her accident. When I got this for her, I searched to see if the officers had claimed she was abusive -- or claimed anything that justified their arresting her. The report indicatred she had acted improperly -- but gave no indication of what that means. (To date, we have inquired 2 times to find out what they meant, but have been ignored.)
It turns out my cousin was actually arrested. She had to go to court 3 times to fight these charges. (They have finally now been dismissed.)
It turns out the registration problem was something to do with insurance that DMV thought had elapsed for a few days in April (although DMV now says there was no lapse). Of course she had to pay towing charges and storage charges for her car.
It turns out the towing company damaged her car, so she is now fighting to get payment of several thousands dollars.
My cousin would like an apology. She will probably never get it, although she is filing a civilian complaint.
My cousin would like to file a lawsuit, but she probably won't get the NYCLU or similar group to help because her case is not that exciting and there are no racial issues involved.
This episode happened a few weeks before the arrest of Gates. I spoke to several police friends I have and other officials. They said my cousnin must have been rude and belligerant.
My cousin says she was not. But my question remains: what behavior short of her punching an officer or grabbing a gun warrants being handcuffed and thrown in jail and so mistreated over a vehicle registration matter?
I have thought much about police these few weeks. In my mind there are police officers who are attracted to law enforcement because they like the power. There are police officer who are attracted to it for better reasons but hang around with the other kind and get influenced. And then there are the outstanding officers who despite the pressures of the job and relatively low pay are professional.
Would better training give us more of category 3? Would better screening give us fewer of category 1?
So as we hear and read more about the Cambridge police and Black/Police issues, remember the abuse knows no color.