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Police Brutality

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.”

--Abraham Lincoln--

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

--Lord Acton--

“In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.”

--Bertrand Russell--

I routinely speak to people that accuse the police of wrong doing because I am a criminal defense attorney. However, I am starting to hear things coming from people that either live, work, or travel through the Englewood neighborhood on the Southside of Chicago that is a little disturbing. They are different people with similar stories of alleged police misconduct. Since there is no way for me to substantiate the claims at this time I will not get into specifics. However the issue of police brutality and/or misconduct is an example of an issue where the right people in office, regardless of whether it is at the local, state or federal level, can make a difference in our community.

Police brutality and misconduct is the scariest of crimes. Yes. In my book police brutality and/or misconduct is a crime because it usually involves perjury (a police officer lying on a police report and/or under oath during a hearing or at trial). Yet, few if any police officers will be prosecuted for perjury because they are the witness for the prosecution and it is the prosecutor’s office that goes after people that commit perjury. It is such a scary crime because when it is happening there is no defense for it and it is also nearly impossible to avoid.

There is no defense to police brutality or police misconduct because far too often when a person is arrested and charged with a crime it comes down to that person’s word against the police officer’s word. The police usually win that battle. In my experience as a trial attorney, most people tend to believe the word of a police officer over the word of a defendant. They seem to do so because of two reasons: (1) they think that the defendant has every reason to lie and but the police do not, and (2) they do not want to believe that there are police officers out there that will lie under oath and send an innocent person to jail. Well, the sad reality is that both thing s do happen. That is not the scary part though.

Police brutality and misconduct are nearly impossible to avoid because there is no real way to predict when it can and/or will happen. In many cases it is possible to avoid most dangerous situations by doing a variety of things like living in neighborhoods that are statistically safe or by staying away from areas or neighborhoods that are statistically dangerous or by not going out late at night. However, with police brutality or misconduct it is nearly impossible to avoid because there is no way to avoid contact with the police without becoming a recluse.

This situation is so scary because we as citizens are virtually defenseless in situations involving police brutality and/or misconduct without the proper safeguards in place. If I or someone I care about is attacked I can defend myself or that person using appropriate force for the situation. If I am attacked by a police officer under the guise of a legitimate traffic stop or arrest, I can not defend myself without risking the wrath of the legal system or the wrath of a gang of other police officers. And if a police officer wants to plant a weapon or drugs on someone during a traffic stop it is very difficult if impossible to convince a jury of that person’s innocence without some conclusive objective evidence, which will usually not exist.

Now, I feel compelled to state that most police officers that I have met seem to be professionals that do not commit police brutality or misconduct. Yet, there is a reality that the good police officers (the majority) tend to cover for the bad police officers (the small minority). This situation has to change. The only way this will change is if some public official makes it a priority.

What Is Black Enough?

“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. “

--Martin Luther King Jr.--

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”

--Alan Kay--

“Wisdom is what's left after we've run out of personal opinions.”

--Cullen Hightower--

Is Barack Obama black enough? That is the question that has been asked on more than one occasion since he declared himself a candidate for the Office of the President of the United States of America. Mary Mitchell, a columnist at the Chicago Sun-Times, wrote an article that discussed that question. Yet, no where in the article or in any other article on this subject, has the term “black enough” been defined. Well, maybe it is time that it is.

I have always been told that words are meaningless when it comes to defining a person. Actions speak much louder than words. Well, I would make the same argument when it comes to deciding whether a political candidate is “black enough” to deserve the vote of the African-American community.

Yes. I know what I just wrote is different from what Mary Mitchell’s article was about. Her article was about the reality of the assumed perception of “the majority of African-Americans.” There is this assumption by the media that the majority of African-Americans feel comfortable with African-American political candidates that project a certain type image and therefore any African-American candidate that does not fit within that image will have a tough time winning their votes. That may be true to some extent, but if it is, isn’t it time to change that reality? If it is not true then isn’t it time to challenge and hopefully expose that myth?

Anyone that reads my articles will quickly, easily, and correctly come to the conclusion that I believe there is way too much voting based on images from political candidates as opposed to voting based on issues. That being said the whole question of whether Barack Obama or any African-American candidate is “black enough” is an example of what ails “us” in regards to how we choose our political leaders. The reality is that the color of a politician does not matter. What does matter or should matter to the vast majority of the people in this country (including “us” black folks) is what that person does while they are in office.

To me the only measure of whether a politician is “black enough” is what they have done while they were in office or what they propose to do in order to get into office. It is about action not words. When I write action I mean action of substance instead of action of imagery. I will example what I mean by that comment. Politicians routinely do things that make for great photo opportunities, but do not make any real difference in the lives of their constituents. Those are actions of imagery. An action of substance is something that makes a real difference in the lives of people. If Barack Obama was elected to the Office of President of the United States tomorrow and cut out head start, college aid, the EEOC, HUD, funding for first time home buyers, the SBA 8(a) program, and funding for the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department then would it matter that he is of African ancestry? I don’t think so. If Hillary Clinton or Rudy Giuliani, or any of the other candidates got into office and did things that helped the African-American community would it matter what their genetic background was? Maybe, but it shouldn’t.

The truth is that although there is plenty of opportunity in this country, even for “us” black folks, there is still an inequity of opportunity as a result of the history of slavery and discrimination in this country. Any candidate, regardless of their genetic background must be willing to address those inequities at their root to the extent it is within the power of their office to do so. That is the only real measure by which any candidate should be judged to determine whether he/she is “black enough.” Any other standard is an invitation to be “had, took, led astray, run amok, and bamboozled.”

Now let’s look at Barack Obama’s actions. Obama is not perfect. I will admit that when he first took office I heard a few rumblings from African-American staffers on Capitol Hill about the lack of African-Americans on his Washington, D.C. staff, but many other African-American members of congress that have leadership positions have received the same criticism (which I guess is a topic for another day).

Yet, his career before public office and his record in public office reveals a commitment to the African-American community. He helped get African-Americans registered to vote in order to help get the first African-American elected as Mayor of Chicago (and by the way Mayor Harold Washington was also a reformer who greatly helped the African-American community as well as the city as a whole). Obama worked as a community organizer on the Southside of Chicago to try to help people at the grassroots level to build power to address issues in their community. Obama stood with several members of the Illinois Assembly and the community and challenged the Governor of Illinois to pass a law that would at least put a police officer’s job in jeopardy if he/she lied under oath in death penalty cases. He also sponsored a bill in the Illinois Senate to address racial profiling.

If the question about being “black enough” must be asked then maybe it is time to start using the right standard to answer it.