Most police officers are honest, hard-working public servants who serve their communities they are charged with protecting with honor and distinction; yet a seemingly growing number of what are sometimes called “rogue cops,” appear to be exempt from the very justice they’ve sworn to uphold.
A recent joint investigation by the Chicago Reporter and ColorLines Magazine has shed new light on the issue of police misconduct. According to the investigation, “45 percent of Chicago police officers that have been sued for having shot and killed a civilian since 2000 had previously been sued before-in some cases multiple times.” Yet most of these officers remained in their positions, or moved on to other police forces where they committed similar offenses. Unfortunately, reports like this are becoming more and more prevalent.
In one example, a federal judge refused to order the City of Chicago to give aldermen the names of hundreds of police officers that have been repeatedly accused of misconduct. At issue are the names of 662 officers accused of abusing civilians in more than 10 complaints from 2001 to 2006. In July, the aldermen were given the list of officers, but the names were blacked out, according to the Associated Press.
Apparently the city is more interested in protecting the “privacy” of its officers, than the “rights” of its citizens. Mayor Daley and others have defended the decision not to release the names of the officers based on the logic that the officer’s right to privacy would be violated, since they haven’t been found guilty. If this rationale is true for police officers, then why is it not also true for the citizens they serve?
What about the citizen’s rights to privacy? If you or I, for example, were accused of violating the law (and there was sufficient evidence, let’s say 10 complaints) we would likely be arrested, jailed and have to prove our innocence in a court of law. Meanwhile, the general public would have full access to our names-not to mention our life stories. And all of this would happen, mind you, before you or I were found guilty of anything.
So why should it be any different for the people we pay to protect and to serve us? The answer is: it shouldn’t. Who’s policing the police? Hopefully, the newly appointed independent police review board will police the police.