2005/06/11

Why Public Police is a problem # 126

CBS has a brief article on L.A. Cops Gone Wild and their consequences:
Thirteen sheriff's deputies will be disciplined for firing about 120 shots at an unarmed driver last month, an incident that sparked outrage in the community and prompted some deputies to apologize.
And for all this shooting, what happened to the lucky shootee?
Winston Hayes, 44, was struck by four bullets in the May 9 shooting, which was captured on videotape following a brief pursuit of Hayes' sport utility vehicle. The vehicle matched the description of one thought to be involved in a previous shooting. It was later determined that Hayes was not involved in that incident. Hayes was hospitalized for about two weeks and now faces charges of evading police and driving under the influence of drugs.
He didn't kill anyone. He wasn't wanted. He was just minding his own business driving his car. And for all that, he gets shot up for mistaken ID! I'm surprised that people in Compton aren't lynching the police, considering that when compared to Rodney King (only one man was beaten up), this incident involved the whole neighborhood:
The shooting spurred anger in Compton, where bullets smashed through windows and hit houses.
With the tax funded bullets hitting homes, no place is safe! Drive by shooting is least of our worries, when police gone wild can shoot up our homes willy nilly! The irony of property tax paying for the cops and their weapons (which damaged the said tax generator) goes without saying...