The mural was created by artists in Trenton, New Jersey on the gate to a vacant storefront.
Permission of the proper authorities was even obtained before the mural was created, just to make sure that there was no reason for it to be destroyed later by police.
But that didn’t seem to thwart officers who decided to get involved, even though no laws had been broken by the artists who created the mural.
Monday afternoon, the mural was defaced, then painted over after Trenton police said that the painting “sent the wrong message about community and police relations.”Counter Current News
Watch the video of the illegal destruction of this legal artwork by police suppressing freedom of speech!
Police Destroy LEGALLY Painted Mural of Mike Brown, Because It ‘Sent the Wrong Message’
12 comments:
What is it about the left and defending black thugs? Is it a reflex action that can't be controlled? Like it or not the officer was right and the thug was wrong, and sadly the thug had to die. Lesson: don't attack a cop in his squad car, attempt to take his gun so as to kill cop. Simple math. Oh, and I'm all for tearing down the horseshit mural.
...and since I'm friends with many Austin area Chicago cops (and have been robbed myself in that part of the woods) I can vouch for the accuracy of Fred Reed's missive here:
http://www.unz.com/freed/real-life-policing/
Uh, this is a First Amendment freedom of expression issue.
And as far as the link goes, why not just go with frontier justice and vigilantism? It's a lot cheaper than funding a police force, and I don't see much difference in attitude or outcomes.
One of my uncles was a state police commissioner. I have served as a military police officer. I was not assigned to the military police but each command has to provide an officer on a rotational basis and did that many times. I know the drill. I've been asked if I needed to go take a crap or get a cup of coffee when I was watch officer.
Yes, it is messy. But there's a legal, professional way to do it and the other way. I've seen both.
I get that, but it's a pin dot in the big picture. Also, it could be argued the idiotic mural is like shouting fire in a crowded theater. Very incendiary once the cop is exonerated, as he should and will be..
Tom, regarding the link I sent, I think the cops acted appropriately. You? Not getting the association with frontier justice you're alluding to.
"Got a better idea?"
Yes, follow the law and department policy. Don't just make shit up as you go depending on how you feel. That's unprofessional on one hand and often illegal on the other.
The purpose of police is not crime-prevention but arresting criminals when crimes have been committed. This is basic to living in a free society.
Generally speaking, I don't think that police act "appropriately" or even legally when violence is involved. Yes, many police forces are managed professionally but a lot are not and it is very difficult to get actual evidence of unprofessional conduct let alone wrongdoing when the evidence is police reports.
A good example is generally observable police driving habits. Police pretty generally ignore speed limits even when it is completely unnecessary to do so. They seem to believe that they are above the law in this regard. It's pretty much the same with violence. They have a monopoly on it and believe that they are the judge (and jury) of how to use it.
From what I have seen over my life, and especially over the last few years, most police are not competent in this regard, and everything depends on the culture in which they operate. While it's true that there are good cops and bad cops on every force, a good force weeds them out quickly and disciplines them or gets rid of them. A bad force creates a context in which even "good" cops overreach because they are just following cultural SOP, usually stemming from the top.
Federal judge rejects SPD officers’ suit over use of force
Tom, the vast majority of cops aren't bad. Period. the letter of the law screw more than helps too. Period.
I didn't say that the majority of cops are "bad". I don't think they are, at least intentionally so. But I think that most act badly in the sense of unprofessionally or illegally due to the police culture in the departments in which they serve. Even the best cops follow the culture in supporting whatever their fellow officers do regardless of what they may think about it personally. The go along to get along. They think they are being good cops and most are actually trying to be good cops. It's the notion of "good cop" in the culture that is screwed up.
We don't know exactly what happened between Darren Wilson and Mike Brown, but every witness that we have heard from has described it as murder.
We do know that Wilson chased after Brown and attempted to shoot Brown in the back. That doesn't sound like self-defense to me.
As Tom said, the mural is a free speech issue, and the artist got the necessary permissions.
The cops that destroyed the mural -- who are they serving and protecting? Trenton is 52% black, by the way.
254Tom and Dan,
I live near Chicago and I have many friends who are cops. I'm over 50 and am no dupe. I lean to the left, but on this score --the Michael b\Brown thing_ I'm firmly on the side of the cops. And, Tom, you are wrong. 95% of cops are good guys.
Again, I didn't say they weren't good guys. I said it is the police culture. Many police officers, especially religious one, think that they are being moral. That's the point. The US doesn’t have a morals police. Professionalism involves knowing the law and enforcing the law precisely without overstepping to either side of the fine line.
Most police departments don't operate on that basis. Even so, most police officers likely act professionally most of the time. But they don't turn in fellow officers and there are times that they step over the line.
There should be zero tolerance for both of these infractions of law or discipline in a well-managed department and the chief and his staff should let the public and officers know that their policy is zero tolerance for being unprofessional, and illegal behavior is cause for dismissal.
Now with the technology available, all police action should be digitally recorded and the record made available to those with a need to know including the press, with privacy restrictions and significant penalties for violations.
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