Sunday, October 20, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

LETTER: Not a racial issue

Some bad officers don't discriminate

To the editor:

In response to comments made in the Oct. 10 article "Pellet Gun Incident: Teen-ager injured in police shooting":

The story details how a black 16-year-old was shot -- either while aiming a pellet gun at police officers or while running away from them ... depending on whose account of the incident you believe.

Immediately, the victim's mother raised the race issue by saying, "If this was a white neighborhood, this never would have happened."

I contend that the mother was wrong. I believe some police officers -- and I emphasize "some" -- are equal opportunity jerks. It does not matter if you are white, black or purple; they get high off the adrenalin rush that comes with turning you black and blue through beatings or red from anger resulting from their dehumanizing treatment.

It does not take much time researching Review-Journal articles from the past few years to conclude that some police officers act the way they do regardless of skin color.

I point to a few examples:

-- In June, a police officer chased a white 14-year-old skate boarder, Chris Hamilton, into his home. And the officer drew a weapon on the boy's parents. The whole family was taken into custody and arrested, but all seven charges against the trio were dropped as the case progressed through the legal system. The boy's crime? Using an expletive on a cop and then running.

-- Police do not commit ageism either. They are equally likely to beat up on senior citizens as anyone else. In Henderson, a white 84-year-old man, Charlie Walker, was arrested in July for driving violations and during the stop the officer broke five of his ribs, fractured his hip, and gave him other injuries. His crime? Being too slow in reacting to an officer's commands.

-- My last example shows that cops do not practice sexism when they harass citizens. A mother, Chanin Cuddeback, was driving her two small children in spring of 2001, when she was pulled over by an officer for failing to come to a complete stop at a stop sign. She was arrested for assault when she slammed the pen down on the citation after signing it. The officer tackled her to the hood of his car when she looked back at her crying children. She sustained injuries and her children were traumatized.

So, some cops are not racist, ageist or sexist.

ANTHONY WRIGHT

LAS VEGAS