I spent a good part of my career working in a tough urban ghetto. I only mention this here to explain why the otherwise shocking story from Los Angeles does not surprise me one bit. Apparently Earl Hutchinson is more concerned with the police department’s reputation than a child’s welfare.
If you have been following the Starkeisha Brown issue, you know that she severely beat, burned, abused, and generally tortured her 5-year-old son. The latest update from the newspaper of record in L.A. brings to light a more sinister sub-plot: Everyone involved in Brown’s life suspected the abuse and did nothing!
Read carefully this piece from the L.A. Times and I hope you get as sick as I did for years when I heard the same sorry excuses. “We don’t trust the police,” or “The man will just make this worse.” Pathetic.
The truth is that the mostly African American residents of south central Los Angeles “don’t snitch” no matter what.
Observe the quote by Ms. Daniels: “In South-Central, we don’t do that. I’m just telling you how it is.”
Even when a child is dying. The truth is that the so-called community leaders like Hutchinson continue to refuse to call this what it is: Cultural conspiracy. Every one of those people is responsible, in a direct and absolute way, for burns and cuts and bruises on this victim’s body. Yet his only explanation is:
” Hutchinson and others said suspicion and fear of authorities runs deep in parts of South L.A. “
Oh, it’s the police department and social services agencies’ fault. I have a suggested quote for Mr. Hutchinson to substitute:
” Residents of our poorest neighborhoods need to set aside their self-victimization mentality and call the police if a child is in trouble.”
I guess now they will call me a racist. I thought that child abuse would be serious enough for leaders to finally step up and challenge the Black community to break their silence. The truth is I was wrong.
Jun 21, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Amen to you!!!!
Just like some of my neighbors here who wouldn’t get involved when these two teenage boys were breaking into the foreclosed homes and vandalizing these! I did get involved– more than once– just recently!!! And let me tell you, I will dial a cop anyday!!!
this story above just made my blood turn cold!
And yes– everyone is at fault!!! Bunch of frigging wimps! Pathetic is being too nice! But my expletives won’t pass moderation!
xxxx
Jun 21, 2008 at 12:54 pm
what do you think of Sheriff Joe?
xxxx
Jun 21, 2008 at 12:55 pm
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/06/19/20080619countybudget0620.html
Jun 22, 2008 at 10:26 am
Susan
If you mean Sheriff Arpaio, I love the guy. Hard core American with a sense of purpose for certain.
I think he is a bit dishonest when he says that he does it all for the country and doesn’t like the media attention. My guess is that the hype is very exhilirating to him…
PC
Jun 22, 2008 at 10:08 pm
I’m doing research on police brutality in nyc and i must say that since i’ve been hear i’ve actually developed a more positive attitude towards them, although i still think that there are a lot of problems with the nypd. You bring up good points, the media does blow things out of proportion because throwing race into everything is a great marketing tool, but i think that you have to also accept the fact that if Sean Bell had been white all hell would’ve broken lose all throughout ny and america.
Jun 25, 2008 at 8:29 am
Praise the Lord! A subject to talk about on my favorite cop blog!
PC – I’m with you and Susan with regard to the culture of silence in these neighborhoods. There’s no friggin excuse for it except exactly what you said! Although, as always, exceptions prove the rule, most of these situations remind us that victimhood is a decision you make, not what happens to you. It’s like happiness – happiness in not external, it’s internal, and YOU decide. Most victims DECIDE to be victims, or at least to remain victims in this sociological milieu.
As to Sheriff Joe Arpaio… If you ask me “Has the man done some needed and good things?” I would answer “Yes.” If you ask me “Would you vote for him to be your sheriff?” the answer would be “Not no, but HELL no!”
I agree with PC about mixed motives. He has a brother who runs the vending facilities at the jail/tent city, and who does so in a privileged and prejudicial manner according to complaints from women inmates. I think the groundswell that will be his downfall has started right there in Maricopa County.
Criticism has resulted due to lawsuits filed against the sheriff’s office by family members of inmates who died in jail custody and in high-speed pursuits involving deputies. The lawsuits have cost Maricopa County more than $43 million in settlement claims during Arpaio’s tenure. (according to a Wikipedia article WITH references on the Sheriff) From 2004 through November 2007, Arpaio was the target of a 2,150 lawsuits in U.S. District Court and hundreds more in Maricopa County courts; 50 times as many lawsuits as the New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston jail systems combined.
By mid-year 2007, more than $50 million in claims had been filed against the sheriffs office and Maricopa County.
Arpaio is currently subject to a class-action lawsuit, Hart v. Arpaio, brought by Phoenix attorney Debra Hill and the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of jail inmates. The case addresses pretrial detainees, who are legally innocent until proven guilty. The lawsuit claims that Arpaio is violating the constitutional rights of those detainees. Health and corrections experts are currently examining conditions in Arpaio’s jails, in connection with the suit, which is scheduled to go to trial in August, 2008.
Furthermore, in a 1998 Arpaio commissioned study, Arizona State University Criminal Justice professor Marie L. Griffin found that Arpaio’s policies did nothing to reduce recidivism in the Maricopa County facilities compared to his predecessor: “there was no significant difference in recidivism observed between those offenders released in 1989-1990 and those released in 1994-1995.”
This is nothing more than a ticking bomb that nobody knows when it will go off. One thing is for sure – the Sheriff will be at ground zero when it does, and THIS old deputy sheriff wouldn’t wanna be within a thousand miles when it does!
406, OUT
Jun 25, 2008 at 10:13 am
406…as usual you are more articulate than I could ever be! I did not know about the lawsuit, and find it interesting. I think the right way to run a jail is somewhere between Arpaio and the rest of the large jails in our country.
I suspect he is trying to make a point. Interesting to see what happens here…
Jun 25, 2008 at 10:14 am
AB
I am gald you have seen a different side. I have never, and would never, say there are not bad cops out there. Lord knows there are. Just not as many as people like to dramatize into existence.
Jun 26, 2008 at 10:07 am
Yep, PC… Joe has ALREADY cost ‘em MORE than $43 million (one wrongful death alone was > $8 mil). And with only the suits pending he could cost them more than twice as much more.
Of course, if they keep electing him, what can you say… they must like keeping their county government nearly broke… or maybe the county simply has more money than it knows what to do with and all those monetary losses are nothing to them. Sure as hell wouldn’t work that way in MY county!!
I think he’s made his point. If you look at the beginnings of what’s going on in Maricopa County, I think his days are numbered. Too many people that matter are getting over him.
As you say, probably the right way to run a jail lies somewhere BETWEEN the Joe Way and the way many are “run” these days. I’m not fond of the idea of molly-coddling prisoners. I’ve seen more than enough of that done. But we also must face the fact that in county jails there are also numbers of people who have NOT been convicted of anything, and hence must be treated according to their legal status, i.e. innocent until proven guilty. There’s a difference between the population of a jail and a prison. Prison houses only convicts. Tain’t so with a jail. There are differences in standards. Even with that said, there are ways NOT to treat even convicts.
406, OUT
Jun 29, 2008 at 11:03 pm
406-
you totally said what I wanted to say! Yes and yes!
Philosoph– now you know why I asked and my bud here, 406, just gave you the answer!
Sheriff Joe is corrupt and he has lawsuits all over the place! He enjoys his control and he is losing it!
And I know smut about him– Personally– how he let one of his right hand man’s kid not do any time after this kid did a drive by shooting at someone’s house! How do I know this? I worked with the kid’s girlfriend and he bragged about getting away with his crime because his dad was Sheriff Joe’s main man! Unfair!!!
you go 406! I need to find my links about him– some articles! But he does good work in other areas!
He is using a part of the jail to house animals so they are not put down and he has the incarcerated taking care of them- which is good for both– A good way to build morale as all those are not evil but just stupid– so this to me brings out good! LOL