I've placed it in Politics because I think that's a logical choice - it's certainly a political choice that our elected representatives have made to turn a blind eye for years to this kind of outrageous behavior engaged in by what appears, alarmingly, to be not a small minority of law enforcement officers - who are sworn to uphold the law and to 'protect and serve' their fellow citizens.
eta: I'm concerned about this issue because going into prosecution a few years ago I naively believed that mistakes made by the State were the exception to the rule, and that most prosecutors and law enforcement officers were basically decent people who strived to do the right thing. (You may recall that at the time Andrew D accused me of 'selling out', an accusation that hurt me deeply, because if I am nothing else, I am scrupulously ethical in my practice of law, and the first to own any mistake I might make and to give all benefit of doubt on any issue to the defense.)
As I started practicing as a prosecutor, I was shocked to see the prevalence of distrust for police and the State that is expressed by potential jurors in voir dire; I thought maybe it was some kind of Montana Libertarian thing, but at my recent nationwide conference I learned, it ain't. Many, many people don't trust the State anymore, and I am one of them. I know that I have never committed anything remotely close to misconduct - in fact, I 'play' so fairly with defense counsel that I have made enemies of some LEOs with whom I've worked - and THAT is something that shocked me, too.
It shocked me into the realization that FAR too many of the people in law enforcement are motivated by the desire to WIN, not by the desire to seek JUSTICE, wherever it leads. Far too many are, indeed, jack-booted thugs who 'get off' on their power and control over fellow citizens. Far too many - police and prosecutors alike - believe that they have 'magic vision' that enables them to see the guilt in people even when the evidence leaves room for reasonable doubt; and far too many prosecutors are willing to fix the deck when they believe in guilt and evidence exists that doesn't support that belief.
Anyway, here's a gut-wrencher to start off with:
Baltimore police officer charged with slitting throat of dog that had already been contained
BY JUSTIN GEORGE June 18 - Washington Post
A Baltimore police officer slit the throat of a dog that officers had already detained and now faces felony animal cruelty charges, the department said Wednesday.
The department’s Internal Affairs division is investigating the incident, which police Deputy Commissioner Dean Palmere called “outrageous and unacceptable” at a news conference. Officials say they learned of the dog’s killing Monday, two days after it occurred.
Other officers who witnessed the incident have been forthcoming with details, police say, but investigators are trying to determine whether any of them should have disclosed the incident immediately.
The killing of the 7-year-old Shar-Pei named Nala came a day after a Baltimore police officer shot to death a steer in Mount Vernon after it had escaped a slaughterhouse and evaded capture for about 2 miles. That incident is also under department investigation, but officials have defended the officer’s use of force in that case.
In the case of the dog’s death, Baltimore police Deputy Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez said there was no “viable” way to justify the veteran officer’s actions, which took place in the 700 block of Grundy Street in Brewers Hill.
“We have no words to describe this,” he said.
On June 14, police said, Nala got loose and bit the hand of a woman who tried to catch the dog. Palmere said the wound was superficial. Officers from the Baltimore police’s Southeastern District detained the dog and summoned emergency services officers to the scene.
The emergency services unit handles many duties including assessing barricade situations and providing police crime-scene lighting.
They also carry the long dog-control poles, which can lasso stray dogs safely, Lt. Eric Kowalczyk, a Baltimore police spokesman, said.
The Shar-Pei was detained with one of these poles, police said.
At some point, one of the emergency services officers then pulled out a knife and slit its throat, Palmere said. The dog died from its injuries.
“Officers were appalled by what they saw, as were other citizens,” Palmere said.
Rodriguez said no motive or provocation could justify the act. The dog poles are meant to keep animals safely at bay for detainment and the department had “gone through great lengths” to train officers on how to handle almost any situation involving dogs.
“There is no procedure or training that justifies this behavior,” Rodriguez said.