by Stanley W. Shura

Created on: March 14, 2011   Last Updated: April 06, 2011

As sad and demoralizing a fact as it is, it has been shown time (and time and time) and again, that police are NOT always to be trusted to protect and to serve.  I state here, as a pre-emptive rebuttal to those who would pretend not to know the obvious, that this essay and example does not apply to all law enforcement personnel.  My point is that it should not apply to any - that every last and single officer should be expected to respect the rights of the citizens they serve, and subvert their own needs and impulses while on the clock.

Unfortunately, as the case below tragically and more than adequately demonstrates, it is all too easy to get swept up in the power trip under the guise of being "strong and brave and assertive" or whatever, undoubtedly a product of the "don't take any shit" philosophy ground into the heads, hearts, and backs of absolutely all police academy cadets.

What follows is an example of a tragedy, an abuse of power, and a subversion of justice that didn't have to - and should not have happened.  We the citizenry have a civic - a moral - obligation to see that this travesty be reversed, and that such a disgusting abuse of power and taking advantage of the disabled never, ever happens again.

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I'm going to apologize in advance for the intense tone this response is likely to take, as I can already feel my body responding to my anger about this.

I'm also going to please, please ask anyone who is so inclined to counsel me to "see the big picture" or "don't get hung up on" this or that, please don't bother. I've spent more hours pondering, worrying about, seething, reading, pacing and writing about just this type of issue than most (not all) bloggers, citizens or even professional journalists have in their entire careers and/or online expositional lives.

To see the original Washington Post article (3/13/11), click here:  tinyurl.com/4t83b8d

A Virginia teenager, Reginald "Neli" Latson, 19, who is autistic, was sitting on the steps of his local library when onlookers/residents decided that this young black male wearing a hoodie looked or was acting suspiciously.  The police were notified and soon arrived.

The responding officer, one deputy Thomas Calverley, 56, a school resource officer (seriously?), who had been "informed" that Latson might have a gun, approached him innocently and casually enough with a "What's up, man?".  Good.  Not bad - be calm and establish communication without being aggressive or accusatory.

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