A POLICE OFFICER SPEAKS OUT!

 I read with interest some of the articles distributed by you regarding the LA Police Rampart scandal. In particular, the "technicalities" mentioned by Mr. Lindner in his article about the dysfunctional system have been ignored by police everywhere as a matter of practice for many years. As a former Orange County, California, police officer in the early '70's it was encouraged and, therefore common, practice to write police reports reflecting an arrest as it should have been made according to the textbook "technicalities" and not as it actually occurred. Even back then, although a far simpler era, police were NOT taught to NOT violate the public's Constitutionally protected rights but to be efficient in police tactics at virtually any cost. Then lie as much as necessary and write the arrest report so as to secure a conviction in court. Especially military-like was the LA Sheriff's academy , of which I was a graduate. It was their method to first aggressively break you down mentally and physically before beginning to restructure your thinking as well as your values. No mention of respect for the public or peoples God given rights was ever made. Recruits were reshaped mentally with the "it's them against us" style of teaching. I have no doubt that today's recruit, partially de-mented and anti-social to begin with, usually of a military background, is molded into a pure "enforcement" machine ignorant of common law or its history, but well versed in statutes and the revenue-raising opportunities they provide. Also the bar for qualifications has been lowered to virtually non existent requirements. Today an overweight, short lesbian with a criminal record can become a cop in many jurisdictions; what kind of bias could she have in "enforcing" the "law"? In earlier, more sane times, a city formed it's Department for Public Safety which was truly charged with the safety and protection of the public. Today's police departments and their "enforcement" officers are primarily revenue raising tools. All of us have experienced a lack of attention to true crimes while non-victim but revenue generating statutory violations mostly committed by accidentally errant law abiding people are attacked with fierce vigor. Over the years, the courts, instead of protecting the peoples right to have justice for all, have merely capitulated to the demand to quash the people and their rights in order to have ever more compliant public ever-ready to be monetarily fleeced by a voracious bureaucracy. There is truly no more justice or law in ANY court. And we, the People, have docily accepted that metamorphosis. 

Police Officer H. Johns (Ret.)

Return to Home Page.