Re: Beating of Citizen By Fairfax County Police
Date: June 17, 2008 09:37AM
RESton peace, please be nice to the lady, will you? You may not know if she's representing the facts right, but obviously she's upset, and there's no point in trolling like that. Police do beat up kids. It's bad and it's sad. I don't know if it happens in Fairfax, but if it does, as Mary here is suggesting it does, then that's a bad thing.
I wonder if Fairfax has a Civilian Review Board. Usually, police departments are not very quick to address internal abuses. This is understandable, in a way, because they deal with a lot of criminals who are often quick to point out imaginary abuses in their own defense, and they inevitably develop a mentality where defending themselves is more important than addressing problems in a balanced way.
Unfortunately, Fairfax does not have a civilian review board. I think one ought to be set up. If a formal civilian review board is not realistic politically, at least there could be a committee of Fairfax residents who informally keep in touch with the police and the press. Not having any sort of institution to channel complaints about the police is really a problem.
I can't really help you directly, but I have a little practical advice: when you post to forums, and *especially* when you sent letters to the police, elected officials, or the like, try to use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. It may not express your sense of urgency as well as ALL-CAPS does, but it comes across more politely, and gets more done.
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Jaap Weel