Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 14, 1991 TAG: 9104160446
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: G. WAYNE PIKE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Sometimes their houses or cars are bombed. Bullets are fired through their homes. Their property is vandalized and their families harassed.
No, this is not an ethnic or racial group. These are members of various law-enforcement agencies. They are policemen.
This is the only professional group of which I know whose members are targeted for murder, and are victims of discrimination because of their jobs.
Policemen are targets of verbal slurs, just like other minorities who are given derogatory names by bigots - names such as cop, fuzz, blue-belly, the man, flatfoot, copper.
Some of these words are even used by the media. If this were done to other minorities, heads would roll within many news and media organizations.
Policemen are often told to stay away from various businesses because the owner thinks their presence is bad for business.
I did not realize until a few years ago how far-reaching are anti-police feelings and discrimination. It was then that I prepared a college thesis entitled "Community Perception of Police." The year of research revealed blatant discrimination against police.
Fortunately, most police officers are able to cope with this bigotry and handle it well. They maintain their professionalism and provide good service to society. Some do not: They become anti-social, paranoid and angry, and may vent their hostility on the people they are sworn to serve, much like other minorities who may riot or commit other acts to show their frustration.
These officers must be identified and removed before they go beyond control. Happily, such officers are the exception and not the rule.
Two recent events bring into focus the points I am trying to make.
Everyone who watches televison has by now seen the video showing a group of Los Angeles policemen beating a man of a different race. It was a scene that would tear the heart from any good policeman. For weeks, this video has been shown daily on national television, over and over again.
In a second case in the Western part of the country, videotape captured another criminal episode. A police officer made a traffic stop of a vehicle containing men of a different race.
While the officer was interviewing the driver, the officer was slashed and his wallet, service revolver and police car were stolen as he lay bleeding to death. The officer was wearing a microphone; a camera in his car recorded the grisly scene.
No national TV network has shown that video. No one to whom I have talked has even heard of the incident, much less asked to see the video. The 47-year-old victim, a 10-year law-enforcement veteran, was murdered on camera with little or no interest from anyone.
Both incidents cry out for justice to be served. But, once more, the public sees only the one that shows police in a bad light.
It is way past time for police and society to come together to reach one common goal. That goal is to make a much-too-violent country safer for all. It is also time to recognize that there are many minority groups in the United States, such as our native Americans, policemen and others, who often are targets of disrespect, discrimination and indifference.
Law-enforcement agencies must bear the responsibility of keeping a professional and humane standard. Society in general must recognize the need of these officers for understanding and support.
G. Wayne Pike is sheriff of Wythe County.
by CNB