Officer Jerald Ard of the Pensacola Police Department essentially engaged in a drive-by tasering of a suspect. The man was attempting to flee the scene of a crime on a bicycle, and died as the result of the tasering.
Some news sources (here) insightfully point out that some police departments are almost gang-like. They use unwarranted force, they protect their own, and apparently, they engage in drive-by shootings. Just this year, high-profile cases saw policemen ganging up in shooting a fireman, using the pretense of a search warrant to play Nintendo Wii for 9 hours, attempting to fabricate evidence to frame an innocent civilian, and shooting a woman and her child in claim of "self-defense."
These are only a few of the many incidents occurring recently, and they are not isolated incidents. Over and over, the punishment for these shootings and gross abuses of power is paid suspension. If we could all be so lucky - to receive a vacation after "accidentally" shooting someone during work. These abuses and the resulting impunity are equivalent to an organized crime culture.
In response to the incident, Pensacola Police Chief said, "there is not an exact prohibition from that [firing] from a moving vehicle] in the policy...it [police training] does not say that you will not fire from a moving vehicle." Not surprisingly, the police always find a way to get their comrades off the hook, no matter how unjust the situation is.
The perpetrator is now on paid administrative leave (i.e. vacation.) People may be aghast at the various gross police abuses that occurred just this year, but in the end, it is not at all surprising. Police culture is one of fear-mongering. They convince the public that they are necessary protectors to ensure that the funding doesn't stop. However, the fact that they have guns and power, legal protection, and lobbyists to protect them while the public does not, then opens the floodgates to police brutality and other mob-like behavior.
Think very carefully next time you vote to increase police department funding in your city.
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