SCREED O' THE WEEK
Since moving to Birmingham, I've heard constant
tales about the aggressive brutality of the Birmingham
Police; I've usually defended their reputation, as the
officers I've gotten to know are good people.
However, during the Jive Mob show at this year's
Spookadelic Festival, I saw a black officer
spray mace into the eyes of citizen simply
because the man dared to poke the officer on the shoulder
with one finger, in an apparent attempt to gain the officer's
attention. As if this wasn't enough of an over-reaction,
there was a black 1-year-old infant within three feet of the
officer's can of tear gas while he sprayed. I also saw at
least four innocent bystanders (mostly teenage girls)
complaining of being caught in the backdraft of the tear gas.
It seemed obvious to all witnesses that neither the
officer nor the public was endangered by this shoulder-poke,
yet the officer responded with inappropriate force that
put a defenseless infant at grave risk.
Discussing the incident later with other people on the
scene, it appears that after the officer TOLD the maced
citizen to "Get the hell outta here" (which the victim did
immediately), the spraying officer and two others tracked
the victim to the middle of the crowd, threw him down, cuffed
and beat him, and THEN arrested him.
This seems to me a blatant attempt to protect the officer
from the reprecussions of a wholely irresponsible and
reprehensible attack on an innocent, if foolish, taxpayer.
Obviously, being foolish cannot be a crime; If it was,
councillor Aldridge Gunn would be in prison for life.
I cannot in good concience defend a police force which allows
this type of brutal thuggery to go on at what should be a
public celebration, especially in the absence of any real
trouble. If a police force treats the citizens it has
sworn to "Protect and Serve" with this level of contempt,
it has only itself to blame when the community refuses to
support it.
Though it is now integrated and fully multi-cultural, it
certainly appears to me that Birmingham's Police Department
continues to operate on the same principles that used
tear gas, firehoses and police dogs on the civil rights
protestors of the 60's.
Police officers are supposed to be honorable servants of
a democratic society. The aggressive, brutal thugs are
supposed to be in street gangs. Hereafter, let's try
to be sure who we're dealing with, before issuing badges
and guns to just anyone.
