Families of SOs Community Group
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This interview about the death of Laquan McDonald, specifically the media's reporting of the incident, touches on issues we talk about regarding reporting sex offender issues. Reporters often repeat official accounts, without asking questions. This is why I think it is important for RSOs, family members, and advocates to take any chance given to speak up about these issues. Here's a link.
http://fair.org/home/the-tendency-is-to-just-publish-the-police-blotter/
"The media are part of the same machinery as the police department’s false narrative about individual instances like the Laquan McDonald case, and larger macro-narratives about the state of the city. And so part of what is getting lost right now—and understandably, given the extreme and egregious nature of what I think can only be called the execution of Laquan McDonald—is that this is not a huge departure from the norm; this is the norm.
So on October 20 of last year, the “police-involved” shooting of a black teenager on the Southwest Side was treated by the media, on the basis of information solely provided by the police department and a spokesperson for the Fraternal Order of Police, the police union, as a kind of routine story of officer self-defense: Young man with a knife lunges at officers, is shot in the chest and dies some time later.
Completely uncritical response. A police shooting, almost invariably, about 80-85 percent of the time, of an African-American—that’s a story that occurs between 45 and 50 times a year in Chicago. We as journalists do not, unless there are exceptional circumstances, dig into the story to do the hard work, on the scene, in the neighborhood, to find out what happened. To this day, even in this post-Ferguson era, the tendency is to just publish the police blotter."
http://fair.org/home/the-tendency-is-to-just-publish-the-police-blotter/
"The media are part of the same machinery as the police department’s false narrative about individual instances like the Laquan McDonald case, and larger macro-narratives about the state of the city. And so part of what is getting lost right now—and understandably, given the extreme and egregious nature of what I think can only be called the execution of Laquan McDonald—is that this is not a huge departure from the norm; this is the norm.
So on October 20 of last year, the “police-involved” shooting of a black teenager on the Southwest Side was treated by the media, on the basis of information solely provided by the police department and a spokesperson for the Fraternal Order of Police, the police union, as a kind of routine story of officer self-defense: Young man with a knife lunges at officers, is shot in the chest and dies some time later.
Completely uncritical response. A police shooting, almost invariably, about 80-85 percent of the time, of an African-American—that’s a story that occurs between 45 and 50 times a year in Chicago. We as journalists do not, unless there are exceptional circumstances, dig into the story to do the hard work, on the scene, in the neighborhood, to find out what happened. To this day, even in this post-Ferguson era, the tendency is to just publish the police blotter."
".....and understandably, given the extreme and egregious nature of what I think can only be called the execution of Laquan McDonald—is that this is not a huge departure from the norm; this is the norm."
Execution. This is the norm. Since LE plays a prominent role in the investigation of a criminal case, these are not exactly comforting words for any defendant accused of a crime.
http://tinyurl.com/o99ntcf
Just read the link above which I provided. These guys are accomplished and pathological liars.
I was well known around town and believe it or not, I still have am on good terms with several judges and defense attorneys. I worked with them and took care of their families---their mom and dad--- as a medical worker in the community. There is one retired judge and a two prominent criminal defense attorneys----one who also served a term in the DAs office----that I also used to go duck hunting with every year.
One of the defense attorneys----a former federal prosecutor out of Oklahoma City----told me that nobody lies as much as LE "if they know they cannot get caught." The former judge privately told me that he rarely put too much emphasis on police testimony, as 99% of the time it was just not accurate. The other attorney----who was a DA for a few years----told me that cops are just not honest and they will often say what needs to be said---true or not----to garner a conviction.
If you mention this, out come the enablers, the people who insist that LE lying and worse yet----murdering people on the street----just does not happen very often and it is wrong to focus on a few bad cops. They will tell you that most cops are good guys. "Most" may be, but many are not.
That is just nonsense and people within the system, the retired judges, former DAs, etc., will privately admit it.
No, not every policeman is corrupt, but more than just a handful are despicable human beings. Cases like the McDonald case are an epidemic and have been going on for years.
These situations speak to the credibility of LE, which is the theme we need to address.
Incidents such as the McDonald case destroys and impeaches any credibility LE has. If you have time, just look at the testimony of ALL the officers involved and then look at the autopsy report and the dash cam tape. These guys were just liars, pure and simple.
There is no way they could have been "mistaken" in their version of events.
And this is not an isolated case. It is equally outrageous for anyone to even attempt to defend these cops here.
This is important because in all criminal cases----including sex offenses----it is LE that does the interviews of the witnesses, handles the evidence, and testifies during the trial. These are all points where LE can---and often do----mislead to garner a conviction.
If they cannot be trusted, then our criminal justice system is just a sham.
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As I have said many times, most of the time the cop on the beat is a decent fellow----until he murders someone and then lies about it, but the detectives are real scumbags.
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That is why it is important for reporters to treat police reports with a certain amount of skepticism and ask questions. Reporters are sometimes reluctant to ask questions if it means putting their access to "official sources" at risk.
But as we have learned many times, it is much better in the long run to face problems honestly when they arise than trying to hide realities that exist, no matter how painful or embarrassing. The cover-up of such incidents does far more damage - to victims, as well as to the credibility of police, government, and media organizations.
We all see through our own lens and until we hear the knock on the door and are personally "LISTED" (black listed?) we do not object either. We too say, "I'm sorry but I fail to see how a black man being killed by the police has anything to do with RSOs." As long as we don't even try to stand up for anyone else or see the similarities/ the bigger picture we will continue to be divided, derided and sent to "civil commitment" centers along with all the stamped out evil groups throughout history.