That police departments nationwide have spent the weekend distancing themselves from lighthearted calls for police brutality from a sitting U.S. president is not a normal thing, but we do not live in normal times.
A Boston Police Department statement said its "priority has been and continues to be building relationships and trust with the community we serve. As a police department we are committed to helping people,not harming them."
In New York, Police Commissioner James O'Neill said in a statement that to "suggest that police officers apply any standard in the use of force other than what is reasonable and necessary is irresponsible, unprofessional and sends the wrong message to law enforcement as well as the public." [...]
The Gainesville, Florida, police department said on Facebook the President "has no business endorsing or condoning cops being rough with arrestees and suggesting that we should slam their heads onto the car while putting them in."
Additional statements were issued in Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Houston, New Orleans, and Philadelphia, while several groups representing officers either expressed tacit support or dismissed the remarks as "a joke."
TOP COMMENTS • HIGH IMPACT STORIES • THE WEEK’S HIGH IMPACT STORIES
TWEET OF THE DAY
BLAST FROM THE PAST
At Daily Kos on this date in 2010—Building a better people trap:
Like it or not, America post World War II was redesigned as a country for cars first, people second. We can all hope that will change and push for legislation that favors more variable use communities, better public transport, and urban renewal, but for many years to come there's going to be a need to shuffle people down the highway on a regular basis in areas where mass transportation is inadequate.
So we better look at ways to do it more efficiently -- ways that do as much as possible to prevent repeats of the big disaster we're all still dealing with... the war in Iraq. Oh, and also that godawful mess from BP.
This week there was some news on a couple of fronts when it comes to replacing our current generation of automobiles with something that slurps up less petroleum.
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