Real Talk: What’s It Gonna Take To Have The Goon Squad Mentality Rampant In The Philly Police Department Examined In Any Meaningful Way?
Or maybe we can put it in a more pragmatic manner: How long before the glut of news stories portraying Philly cops as racist bullies makes it into the regular rotation on cable news networks and beyond, thereby forcing the mayor and police Commish Ramsey to address this all in a way that actually affects change both in the department and in its PR reach? And is the current glut of stories enough? On the tail of various and sundry nonsense beatdowns dished out on South Street recently, we got the Domelights lawsuit. And on the tail of that, we now have the Lukoil beatdown, apparently dished out after an officer’s son got into a minor fender-bender. That (along with others we’re probably already forgetting like, say, the curious case of William Thrasher) definitely seems like enough of a chain to attract a lot of what Philly cops both clean and dirty would view as the wrong kind of attention. But maybe the spotlight is already working in some small way. To view Domelights, for instance, on the day when the Guardian Civic League officially filed an injunction against the site to basically ban it from Philly Police Dept. computers altogether, is to see the goon squad on the run. Three pinned posts by the site’s administrator are battening down the hatches, putting a freeze on new memberships, making the harebrained case that the racist environment cultivated on the site is simply a matter of not enough black cops posting (no, seriously) and finally, addressing the fact that, as the heat rises, Domelights might at some point go offline altogether. Which is not even a good answer. It’s important to remember that Domelights, if we’re to use it as an example of the rift in the Philly P.D. between racist/ignorant goons and intelligent officers who in fact probably care a great deal about the communities they serve, did not invent said rift; it nearly threw them out into a place where everyone can see. Problem is, just looking at it doesn’t fix it. So what does? What will? What’s it gonna take to change this culture?
July 20th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
for a start, require a minimum of 60 college credits.
July 20th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
to be eligible to join the force, that is
July 20th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Thanks for echoing my sentiments when I heard about this ridiculous story.
Between this and the faux drug raids on immigrant bodegas, clearly there are cops who are getting their playbook from The Shield.
Add the fact that any criticism leads to harassment – note the Inky columnist’s home address being posted on domelights when she questioned cops not being ticketed by PPA.
And then add the little incidents of abuse of power that we’ve all heard that never make the press.
I have total respect and admiration for a good cop who risks their life every day to protect and serve, but the ones who are buying into this Vic Mackey culture need to be re-educated and fast!
July 20th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
i see stuff like this and think to myself “ya know, i have a pretty good moral compass. i like my neighborhood and my neighbors. i enjoy both serving and protecting people i like. i am, in fact, exactly the type of person that should become a police officer.”
and then i remember watching “Serpico”, and how at the end of that movie Serpico is glad to have gotten out alive, and the system is still corrupt, and this was many years ago.
the truth is, good people like me won’t become cops, because I don’t wanna have to cut my hair, shave my beard, quit smoking, hide my homosexuality, hide my atheism, etc etc etc. basically, there are so many dumb fucking jackasses on the force who i would have to put up with harassment from before i ever got a chance to actually do my job that it’s just not worth it to even bother trying.
time and again, i wonder to myself “if police can’t monitor each other, how will they ever really monitor the whole city?” and then the F.O.P. puts out another press release making it crystal clear to anyone reading that they just aren’t interested in that sort of thing.
anyone remember Nizah Morris? google her. all the evidence (at least the bits that weren’t suppressed before they “lost” all of it) pretty much implied that the police officers killed her. when the cops can kill any of us at any time and their cop buddies will help cover it up and that will actually WORK, i mean, really, what hope do any of us have?
July 21st, 2009 at 9:41 am
Q: “How long before the glut of news stories portraying Philly cops as racist bullies makes it into the regular rotation on cable news networks and beyond, thereby forcing the mayor and police Commish Ramsey to address this all in a way that actually affects change both in the department and in its PR reach?”
A: as long as you (or anyone) keeps it out here for us to consume and pass along – the sooner it will happen. Looks like it has already started: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/51284982.html
Well done Philebrity!