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Stop demonizing the police

December 14, 2014
–
Mark Chapman
Send signed letters to news@nancyonnorwalk.com
Send signed letters to news@nancyonnorwalk.com

To the Editor:

I can’t stand it anymore!  In response to the front page article “Crosland Speaks on Ferguson Decision” I have to ask: “What is it you want?”  Does the black community want a lawless society?  Does anyone, of any race, want a lawless society?  It seems that Crosland and any other group or individual complaining about the decision does not want the police to be able to uphold the law and/or protect themselves or the community.

Michael Brown broke the law, he attacked a police officer and the police officer did what he was trained to do; protect himself.  Evidence shows that Brown assaulted Officer Wilson through his cruiser window, Officer Wilson then exited the vehicle and gave chase.  When Brown turned to charge Officer Wilson he fired the shots that killed him.  Mr. Crosland will then claim that “eyewitnesses” said that Brown was shot in the back with his hands up, running away, YET autopsy results found no entry wounds to his back.  Mr. Crosland only seems to want to refer to alleged eyewitness accounts that support his own views.

I’d venture to say that Brown knew what could happen if he assaulted or threatened to assault a police officer.  There is a fight to keep Brown’s juvenile record sealed.  If there is nothing to hide, why not release this information?   Why does it seem as though the media and the likes of people like Al Sharpton (and even Norwalk’s own Darnell Crosland) enjoy seeing racial discord in our country?  I’m not sure how helping to incite anger, violence and the destruction of communities helps to send any positive message.

Please stop demonizing the police.  They go to work each day to protect us and our communities, not looking to shoot someone.  Please stop throwing the “race” card.   Regardless of race, if you break the law or threaten a police officer you will be arrested or even killed.  Please stop portraying Michael Brown as an innocent victim; he was not.   We all want to live in a civilized society where our police officers and our laws are respected.  Mr. Crosland and the liberal media are a part of the problem, not the solution.

We all have opportunities in this country.  We can all make the right choices and live productive lives or we can continuously place blame and cry that we are victims of injustice.  Unfortunately, Michael Brown made the wrong choice and it cost him his life.

Megan Kane

Norwalk, CT

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Comments

25 responses to “Stop demonizing the police”

  1. TheNorwalker

    I think the point is that no one is above the law including the Police………….

  2. Mike Mushak

    Ms Kane, if you can’t stand it anymore, move to Russia where the authorities are free to do anything they want with impunity including arrest political opponents for “creating civil unrest”! Give us a break.

    Michael Brown was unarmed, and was fatally shot in the head at a long distance away from the officer where he was not in any danger. The prosecutor mishandled the grand jury by most accounts from legal professionals, including being fed false information by an incompetent assistant about Missouri state law that was long ruled unconstitutional. The grand jury was clearly manipulated in favor of the police officer, and assumptions were made all along the way that were not based on real evidence but on how the prosecutor presented it. The case is being investigated by the DOJ and there is no doubt official bias and mishandling of evidence will be found.

    This writer is obviously clueless about the issues of widespread injustice and police violence. I respect the police a lot but they are only human, and there are enough cases of unequal treatment based on race across the country to indicate that there are bad actors on police forces just as there are in our society at large.

    I would venture a guess that Ms. Kane is white , and has never witnessed official injustice in her life. What’s really frightening is her need to have to write this angry letter at such a sensitive time, when most folks across the country both liberal and conservative and in between are deeply concerned about this issue.

  3. John Frank sr

    While there are some racist police officers or officers who abuse their power regularly, just as there are minority knuckleheads who will attack an officer, confident that the officer will not respond with deadly force, even when the law allows, these small numbers are not representative of the groups we identify them with.

    Ms Kane is correct that most police officers are good people in a difficult job and it is wrong to demonize them all when a story is picked up and broadcast all over the country when one officer does something very unusual, and is not prosecuted, when media coverage says,incorrectly, he/she has committed murder.

    Mr Mushak is, unfortunately, focused on the tiny percentage of people in authority who misuse that authority and seems to believe that abuse of authority is widespread in law enforcement. His perception may be colored by what he knows about local politically appointed people in authority. There are probably a lot more crooked politicians then there are abusive police, but neither group should be demonized by the media because of a few miscreants. Police agencies generally are much more efficient at firing and prosecuting miscreant officers than political parties seem to be.

  4. Wineshine

    While Mr. Mushak is usually on point, and presents a cogent, and objective opinion, he’s clearly fraying around the edges as evidenced by his diatribe here. Ms. Kane’s piece is nothing more than a call for decency and civility for all, and he responds by, you got it, playing the race card with his line, “I would venture a guess that Ms. Kane is white”. Mike you’re now officially part of the problem.

    Further, he is now presenting evidence in the Brown case that is outright fantasy. What part of reaching through a police cruiser window is “long distance”? The autopsy evidence that’s been presented has shown that Brown was shot from the front, at somewhat closer range than you indicate here.

    While you used to be objective, that’s no longer the case, and your credibility now is suspect on any issue.

    From your tone, it appears that you’re under the impression that you’ve gained some sort of bully pulpit here, and I think you’ll find more turned off by your tone than not. Count me among those.

  5. THE TRUTH

    Unfortunately the police deserve to be demonized. Police are not what they were 20 years ago. They are no longer protect and serve. They are more like a gang of thugs.

  6. Casey Smith

    @ Mr. Mushak, Amazing. I didn’t realize you were on the Grand Jury and a witness to boot. Shouldn’t you be down there leading the prosecution?

  7. Mike Mushak

    These other commenters need to read the letter again carefully for all the telltale signs of nonsense. She claims in the 3rd paragraph that there are people “helping incite anger, violence, and the destruction of property.” Who exactly is that ? The spontaneous riot in Ferguson has not been repeated anywhere else in the country as millions of citizens of all races and walks of life have marched together for improved justice. Just yesterday tens of thousands marched again in NYC , and there were no calls for violence and destruction of property, but calls for anger, of course. A stupid comment not based in fact.

    I also have said I respect the police many times and that the actions of a few are spoiling the community/police relationship. Better training in de-escalation of tense situations and anger management are certainly warranted across the country, as evidenced in the recent Cleveland investigation of WIDESPREAD abuse in that department, and the Eric Garner case in NYC revealed so well since the Brown case.

    The statistics speak for themselves. The facts about the clearly biased grand jury process in Missouri will come out (we already know they were intentionally misled about the law, and the officers testimony was presented without any cross examination.)

    I was not on the Ferguson grand jury, and neither was anyone else commenting here, but the fact that an unarmed man was shot and killed at a distance that posed no immediate threat to the officer is still the story that needs to be explained. Why wasn’t the training to use a taser instead of deadly force utilized?

    And I ask you, if any of you were on the Eric Garner grand jury in NYC in the case made famous by the video, , would you have dismissed any charges against the police officers who beat an obese man to death for selling illegal cigarettes and tweeted and joked as he lie there gasping for air dying in front of them? What kind of society allows that?

    That’s why millions are marching. Some of the behavior of some police officers and prosecutors is out of control, even if it is not a majority of police officers who deserve our respect and admiration, but a minority of bad players who somehow feel that can get away with anything including murder because they wear a badge.

    Pretending that this abuse of power doesn’t even exist as this letter writer suggests is absurd, and I applaud everyone of all political stripes and races, including ranking police leadership themselves across the country who are calling for reform and better training, as it is clearly needed based on all the evidence not only recently but over decades.

  8. Mike Mushak

    Oh, I forgot to address the critics of my statement that I suggested Ms Kane must be white and has not suffered any official injustice herself. Well, let’s see. Her absurd comment “Does the black community want a lawless society?” might be one clue.

    Also, I would bet you would find it extremely difficult if not impossible to find anyone of color in America who would ever say there is no racial bias in our law enforcement community, and write this same letter Ms Kane wrote. It is easy to pretend no bias exists when you have never experienced it yourself, which was my point.

    I am white, but I am a member of a minority that has been a victim of official abuse that is in the collective memory of the gay culture, as the history of the modern LGBT rights movement began in a police raid on a gay bar in NYC. After years of patrons of these bars being beat up and arrested and then abused further in jails as officials did nothing to stop it, including being raped and beaten to death, the gay community fought back, marched , organized, and got the NYPD to overhaul their relationship with the gay community within a few years including hiring gay officers and having obligatory sensitivity training. I have never suffered bias myself but it was there for decades and it’s what started the LGBT rights movement. Yes, our police forces once officially discriminated against a minority and it was in my lifetime (the Stonewall Riot was in 1969 when I was 8). Shocking, but true.

    I apologize to Wineshine for confusing him/her on the issue, to lead him/her to think I was ” playing the race card.” I was not. But does he/she agree with Ms Kane that NO racial bias exists in our criminal justice system? Every expert on the subject conservative or liberal would certainly disagree with that position!

  9. Kevin Di Mauro

    @Mike Mushak

    How dare you chastise Ms. Kane for exercising her constitutional right to free speech.

    You state that you “would venture a guess that she is white.” You also state “What’s really frightening is her need to write this angry letter….”

    She has the same right to free speech as Darnell Crosland, a black man, and I hardly consider her letter to be angry when compared to his.

    What’s really frightening is that you would criticize a person’s use of their constitutional rights based on the color of their skin.

  10. QuickNote

    @Kevin Di Mauro
    Agreed.

  11. Mike Mushak

    Give me a break, Quicknote and Kevin, one in the same. Of course she has a right to make a fool out of herself and make idiotic statements that no bias or injustice exists in our law enforcement and justice system, despite all the indisputable evidence over decades that it does. Or maybe all the studies and statistics are just a left wing plot to brainwash the country into thinking there is injustice where none exists, and the videos are staged, and the shootings of unarmed victims are all just Obama’s plot to hurt America, because you know he wasn’t really born here. Lol.

    I have a right to offer my opinion on her absurd position the same way you have a right to defend her, including my assuming that it’s based on her being white and never having experienced injustice based on race. We all have rights to express ourselves! I simply said her need to write her absurd letter especially at this time is frightening. I didn’t say she didn’t have the right to publish it. You are twisting my words to try to intimidate me and everyone can see it for what it is, nonsense. Let’s see, what name should I use to post shortly so it looks like my post had the support of someone else? Have a good evening, Kevin!

    1. Mark Chapman

      @Mike, Kevin

      The last two comments were not allowed. We don’t allow sock puppetry (and as far as we can tell Kevin and QuickNote are not the same), and we will not let this comment section devolve into what we see on other media outlets with petty back-and forth sniping. Let’s keep the comments on topic, not on each other.

  12. piberman

    Why hasn’t Mr Crosland demanded a Committee to Reduce Crime in So Norwalk that affects many of our residents ? If he’s genuinely concerned about the Norwalk PD why not appeal to the Police Commission ? Or to the Mayor directly ? is the Norwalk PD discriminating as is the BOE per Mr Crosland’s allegations ? Is Norwalk selective about “discrimination” ?

  13. Casey Smith

    Mike Mushak –

    “Of course she has a right to make a fool out of herself and make idiotic statements that no bias or injustice exists in our law enforcement and justice system, despite all the indisputable evidence over decades that it does. Or maybe all the studies and statistics are just a left wing plot to brainwash the country into thinking there is injustice where none exists, and the videos are staged, and the shootings of unarmed victims are all just Obama’s plot to hurt America, because you know he wasn’t really born here. Lol.”

    For real? Run, run, run for the hills! The mighty, all knowing Mushak has spoken!

    I’d like to point out that In your first post, you suggested that Ms. Kane move to Russia which is a police state, but strangely enough, you seem to be incapable of allowing for difference of opinion and viewpoints yourself. Just because she has a different view that you clearly do not agree with about the police and general courtesy, you lump her in with birthers and conspiracy theorists? Come on!

    You yourself said in your post “The grand jury was clearly manipulated in favor of the police officer, and assumptions were made all along the way that were not based on real evidence but on how the prosecutor presented it. The case is being investigated by the DOJ and there is no doubt official bias and mishandling of evidence will be found.” How do you know this? You yourself pointed out that you were not in Ferguson or in the Grand Jury chambers. Sounds like a conspiracy theory to me.

    Oh yeah, and just for clarification’s sake. I agree with Kevin and Quick and I have never to my knowledge met Kevin and have absolutely NO idea who Quick may be.

  14. Mike Mushak

    Forgive me Mark and Kevin. QuickNote never appeared before as far as I can tell. And, I never said Ms. Kane did not have a right to publish her opinion as Kevin stated incorrectly, misrepresenting my words. We all have the right to make fools out of ourselves, which is the American Way! You know, Apple Pie and Chevrolet and Quaker Oats! (Trying not to snipe here.)

    Oh, and racism doesn’t really exist in America, according to some white folks anyway who never experienced it. How silly of me for not being convinced by Ms. Kane’s letter when she asks “Does the black community want a lawless society?” Well gee, what a good question to ask in a letter to the editor.

    Imagine a black person asking what the “white community” wants in a letter. Hmmm. How do we answer that kind of question, exactly, which assumes the “black community” might actually want a lawless society and the “white community” of course wants law and order! Of course, that’s it! I’ll write about it and send it in, as that should persuade people! The assumption is so ridiculous it wouldn’t even be worth commenting on unless there were folks who might actually read this crap and believe it. I stand by my position about her letter, as it speaks for itself. Good night!

  15. Concerned Elder

    Megan Kane is daughter of a former Norwalk prosecutor and CT chief justice. Go figure.

  16. Mike Mushak

    Casey, the transcripts from the grand jury have been released and scrutinized, and the opinion of many legal experts around the country is that the case was grossly mishandled, even violating all of the conditions described in a Supreme Court opinion about the use of grand juries

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marjorie-cohn/prosecutor-manipulates-grand-jury-to-shield-officer_b_6240578.html

    And why are you saying I don’t allow for a difference of opinion? Ms. Kane is the one that said she can’t stand it anymore! I just offered her an option of moving to a place where everyone follows the law, except of course the police, but that didn’t seem to be her concern. It was her words that everyone is demonizing the police, but I haven’t seen that by anyone. People are demonizing injustice and bad behavior in police departments. Even the top police officials in the country accept that is happening, and know there are problems.

    Or do you want to pretend like Ms. Kane does that there if we all “just made the right choices and lived productive lives” there would be no injustice? The simplistic and juvenile assumptions made in this letter are that victims bring injustice onto themselves, and that some folks “place blame and cry that they are victims of injustice.” Well, I am sure some folks do, but this letter assumes that everyone who does is wrong, and that there really isn’t injustice in law enforcement, and that its the victims fault if they are shot and killed (even though blacks are 21 more times likely to be shot at then whites.) Yes, just make better choices and live productive lives and this will never happen.

    Right. Got it. Its all their fault, you know.

  17. Casey Smith

    Mike, I don’t get why you insist on insulting Ms. Kane by using the word “fool” and “ridiculous”. Nobody ever said that racism didn’t exist. But, like Ms. Kane, one does begin to wonder what the point is when there are continual charges of racism.
    When people run around making inflammatory statements such as, “I’m going to start a riot!….Burn the [insert profanity here] down!” which was actually caught on video tape, or “Kill all white people” as they pull someone out of a car and beat them to death with a hammer, people wonder what the point is. Apparently looting and lawlessness are preferable to some. I personally call them anarchists but others may have different terms, like lawlessness.

    Atty. Crosland’s letter in The Hour and the meeting with the Mayor about Ferguson seemed to be more of a fishing expedition than actually addressing an issue. It wasn’t all that long ago that Mayor deBlasio was called racist, which was baffling considering that he’s married to a black woman and is the father of two biracial children. Incidents like that make people wonder. Was is racism that made the grocery store clerk give me the wrong change or was she tired after a long day of standing on her feet? Was it racism that made the mail carrier leave my mail in my neighbor’s mailbox or was it a simple mistake? Going down that road leads to paranoia.

  18. Mike Mushak

    Casey, I’ll admit I was harsh. But when anyone says in public that its the victims fault for injustice, and that “they” should just ‘make better choices and live more productive lives” and they wouldn’t have to “cry injustice” well, my hair goes up on the back of my neck as a member of an abused minority myself and someone who has been fighting and marching for social justice all my life for all kinds of folks, including racial and ethnic minorities, women, handicapped, and LGBT folks. Trust me, official injustice is rarely the victims fault, and yet Ms. Kane makes that assumption which is wrong, uncompassionate, and dangerous.

    Do you think women are just “crying injustice” when they make 75 percent of men for doing the same job, which starts right out of college? Or black women making less than that, only 60% of all men together? Is it “their” fault? Should they just “make better choices”? Really? Like a sex change maybe?

    Should gay teens suffering a suicide rate 4 times higher than their straight friends (including flinging themselves off the George Washington Bridge after a bullying incident as happened recently) just “live more productive lives” and they wouldn’t have to “cry injustice”? Should they just try “living more productive lives” you think?

    And in the same vein, should blacks just “make better choices and lead more productive lives” who are shot at 21 times more than whites in similar situations, who get arrested for petty crimes mores than whites (5 times as many whites are using drugs as blacks, yet blacks are sent to prison for drug offenses at 10 times the rate of whites), and who receive 20% harsher sentences than whites for the same crimes? http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324432004578304463789858002

    Of course, it must be their fault, not the criminal justice system. So yes, when Ms. Kane pretends that there is no problem with injustice and that it’s the victim’s fault, and that the entire country is unfairly “demonizing” police when that clearly is NOT what is happening, well, I will call her on it. She doesn’t seem to have a clue about what is going on around the country and what happens every day in every city across our land,, not just to blacks, but to Latinos, women, LGBT, handicapped, and every other oppressed group that has had to fight for their dignity and equality for years and decades and centuries.

    The fight continues, and this national movement for racial justice we are seeing now is part of a long American tradition whenever injustice occurs. I will certainly speak out against a letter to the editor insulting the deepest core of our beings, that those who “cry injustice” are the ones to blame for it, and no one else. Easy for some to say, when they haven’t suffered it themselves (although as a woman I would hope Ms. Kane understands somewhat of what I am talking about here.)

  19. Kelly

    Reminder; The national discussion, that we are finally beginning, is about police use of force, specifically the abuse of force as well as unequal justice, education and economic opportunities.

    Those that attack the messengers rather than acknowledging and addressing the obvious substantial issues are contributing what to the discussions?

    Seems they are reassuring themselves that everything is ok by attacking the messengers completely missing and or ignoring the message, which is; “Everything is NOT OK”.

    Youtube has tens of thousands of recordings of abuse of force, under the cover of blue. Imagine all those not caught on tape. It’s wrong and we must get a handle on it utilizing technology and better training on all levels. It’s doable and its time to do it.

    Anyone that states there are no barriers, no biased, no oppression and no corruption of process and people is living in a better world than the rest of us. But its not reality.

    Can we all show some dignity, maturity and intelligence and stay on topic and check all the personal attacks.

    We do have some serious issues with inequality, oppression and basically rigged political, justice and economic systems against us all.

    The powers that be, know the power of division and that infighting and division keeps the house of cards standing. Don’t be led astray or lead others astray. Stay focused.

    Shout out to @NPD for the capture of the cabbie killer, in what under 100 hours. Great work. Thank you.

    Couple of clips to put things into perspective.

    Lowell, Michigan.
    December, 9, 2014.
    Made possible by the
    Uplift Campaign.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlnxajQrL8w

    Kansas City, Missouri.
    Made possible by;
    An anonymous Secret Santa;
    December 13, 2014
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4k6kYHDnJo

  20. Mike Mushak

    Kelly, whoever you are, God bless you for your succinct and truthful words! Those links were heart wrenching! I liked the second one better as it had more spontaneity involved but in any case you get it, and thank you for posting them.

    We all know most cops are good people who care about all of us regardless of who we are, but there clearly are bad players among them who do not and who interfere with the crucial relationship between police and the community. We must not pretend that is not a problem at all as Ms Kane does in her letter , and blame victims for whatever injustice they may suffer which we know does happen.

    I join Kelly in congratulating the NPD for their excellent detective work in catching the despicable cabbie killer in such a short time. I also wrote a letter to the editor 2 years ago thanking the NPD for their professionalism in protecting our neighborhood in a tense standoff with a deranged man with a rifle, who threatened to shoot anyone he saw next to the NEON daycare center on Bayview that needed to be evacuated, just a few houses away from ours. Their response and conduct was awesome in such a difficult situation, that we witnessed firsthand including having some of them use our house as a safe vantage point of the scene.

    We need the police to protect us, and we need to make sure they all play by the same rules when dealing with everyone in our society, as they would surely agree. Let’s not pretend there is no room for improvement, which is what this issue is all about.

  21. Piberman

    An outsider would never imagine reading the above comments that citizens in Norwalk, especially those most at risk to crime, have the unusual benefit of having elected a longtime admired Police Chief as its Mayor. Long time residents would imagine that Norwalk is among the very least likely of CT’s cities to incur police abuse. That’s one of the premier advantages of living here.

  22. WOW just WOW

    Mike Mushak

    You are on point 100 percent on this matter

  23. Kevin Di Mauro

    Two NYC police officers murdered execution style yesterday. Evidence shows it was retaliatory. What’s the take on that?

  24. Secondhand Rose

    Is Mike Mushak an employee here? Is there some reason why you insist on publishing every word out of his mouth as if he were some type of prophet or soothsayer? […]

    This post has been edited to remove name calling in violation of our comment policy.

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