Injustice Everywhere

Nothing to fear here from the mayor's "private army", right?

When local police forces are outfitted as though they were going into an active war zone, with body armor, tank like vehicles, various chemical weapons and conventional weapons previously reserved for fighting wars; can we not expect that these individuals will perform and react as though they are in an active combat zone, even if they are responding to a vague report from a convenience store?

MP mentalities reinforced with above-the-law sense of entitlement in an Us vs. Them subculture enabled by pansy-a$$d politicians. It's rampant in this country now. Pummel (or shoot) and kill, and answer questions later. Has to be changed. Bad brains in charge.

"Bad brains in charge."
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Glad we don't have that problem in Portland.

Those hicks in Spokane need to get a hip, progressive Mayor like Portland has. And an independent Police Chief as well.

There was a time when i respected Police Officers, Firefighters, and public servants (Politicians). No more. The entire system is grossly corrupt top to bottom. The cops are a joke and a menace all in one. I'm so sick of stories like this. I'm just sick of everything. There is no hope for any of us.

Chilling to say the least. Portland has several officers that fit the profile of looking for violence. How long before we end up with this? It is senseless. They can ID them and should get rid of them.

Spokane cops are indistinguishable from Portland cops. If you think the demonstration by the thugs in the courtroom in Yakima was unique, you have a short memory. PPB's finest pulled a very similar stunt a couple three years ago on the steps of the Justice Center.

Wasn't it Portland cops who printed and wore "Don't Choke 'Em, Smoke 'Em"
T-shirts back in the mid to late 80's after they killed a guy who was trying to break up a fight? Speaks volumes.

The FBI needs to set up shop in Spokane and clean house. People there fear the police.

The words of the ousted Mayor caught my eye in the article:

Mary Verner, who lost her re-election campaign in part because of Zehm's death, said she often wonders what would have happened if city leaders, instead of deciding "to hunker down, to be afraid of the consequences, to go into self-protection mode," had "erred on the side of accountability, transparency and apology".

This is a start, but unfortunately too late, and by someone no longer in a position to do anything about it. Mike Reese, are you paying attention here?

The only difference between this and James Chasse is the videotape. The PPB and City Hall's coverup method were there (and probably would remain) exactly the same as Spokane's, if not worse. The ubiquity of video may finally even the playing field between abusive, lying cops and the citizenry. Too bad it wasn't the case five years ago.

If more people started questioning and resisting facist police behavior, maybe they would change.

Mary Verner, who lost her re-election campaign in part because of Zehm's death, said she often wonders what would have happened if city leaders, instead of deciding "to hunker down, to be afraid of the consequences, to go into self-protection mode," had "erred on the side of accountability, transparency and apology".

This is an odd statement coming from former Mayor Verner. She was the person who did just that, which is why she lost her re-election. Granted Verner wasn't mayor at the time of the incident but she was part of the CYA efforts. She lost because of her mishandling of the situation.