Hands In The Cookie Jar

Fresh on the heals of the recent tear-gassing of JLP members on Hope Road, the police force is in the media again, being scorned for their latest act of indiscretion. This time, the act was against one of their own.

A police corporal who has been in the service for 30 years, was beaten to the point of paralysis, for going into a police station refrigerator for a cup of water.

The officer, who is stationed in Kingston, was in St. James, and went to a police station and requested a drink of water. He had no identification, but told the officers there that he was one of them. They apparently weren't convinced. When the corporal went to the refrigerator he was attacked, and severely beaten by the officers at the station. He now lies in hospital in critical condition, unable to move his limbs, and struggling to speak.

For a freaking cup of water??? The issue brings several issues to the fore. For one, it highlights how little respect members of the police force have for citizens. We all know that if the officers had known that the corporal is an officer, he wouldn't have been attacked. I can understand them being taken aback by a stranger going into their refrigerator, but the situation warrants nothing more than simply apprehending the man and escorting him out. Not one blow was necessary. Not a single one.

It angers me that members of the police force could adopt such an attitude. The truth is, many of them are simply criminals with legal firearms. Every single one of those officers should be locked away... If it were up to me, they'd be beaten to a pulp, and then locked away. This crap is just ridiculous.

What worries me even more is the possibility that these hooligans may walk away from this without much more than maybe a scratch. To me, dismissal from the service is nothing more than a scratch. For heaven's sake, a man is struggling in a hospital bed because he wanted something to drink!

Sadly, there are good officers out there who will take heat for this. I couldn't estimate their numbers, but I know they exist. However, I don't trust one of the whole damn lot anymore. And to think we're worse off without them. Or are we? With security like this, criminals need not work.