Chance favors the prepared mind - Louis Pasteur

Thursday, January 20, 2005

Given the racial undertones of the posts and comments here lately, I think that this incident is truly worth exploring.

A Los Angeles police officer who was videotaped repeatedly slamming the face of a handcuffed 16-year-old boy on to the bonnet of a car and then punching him in the face has been awarded $1.6m (£856,000) in damages in a case steeped in racial antagonism.

Another officer who was present at the incident was awarded $811,000. The award was made after the two white officers sued the city of Los Angeles for racial discrimination, claiming that they had been punished more harshly for their role in the arrest than a black officer who was also present.

The beating made headlines around the world in July 2002 when Donovan Jackson was arrested at a petrol station after his father was questioned about an out-of-date licence plate. The arrest was filmed by a backpacker staying at a nearby hostel in Inglewood, 10 miles south of Los Angeles.  ...

n their lawsuit, Mr Morse and Mr Darvish argued that a third officer, Willie Crook, who had struck Mr Jackson with his torch and also failed to report the beating, received only a four-day suspension because he is black. Police authorities point out that Mr Crook lost his job as a police officer and was reassigned as a civilian prison guard.

Inglewood’s black police chief, Ronald Banks, denied that race had been a factor in the punishments.

“I based my decision on their actions and what I thought their responsibility was. It was based purely on the facts,” Mr Banks told reporters. “I was shocked at not only the verdict but the size of the awards. It was somewhat ridiculous.”

This gets to the point of EXACTLY what I was getting at last night.  Black cop beats black suspect?  No problem.  White cop beats black kid?  He’s a racist hatemonger.  Point out that a white guy looks like a monkey?  No problem.  Do the same for a black woman and you’re a hateful racist.

We have two sets of rules in this country, based upon your skin color and the rigid confines of social political correctness.