‘Cathy “Bags” Lanier’
courtesy of ‘Women_in_Uniform’
The words from Chief Lanier yesterday were harsh and left no room for doubt:
“Officer Jones and his actions are a disgrace to the uniform proudly worn by the men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department who put their lives on the line every day. This crime is a betrayal of the community’s trust and is an insult to the fine men and women of this Department.”
Someone should remind Chief Lanier that here in the United States, you’re innocent until proven guilty at trial, and that this kind of rhetoric is useful only after they’ve found the guy guilty. Now, the evidence is apparently fairly conclusive, according to news reports, but give that sort of disgrace talk a break until after the trial.
Then again, Chief’s always been tough on crime, and somewhat more lenient about the law, so take that with a grain of salt.
I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.
It’s not that I disagree, but at the same time, it’s so common for police officers engaging in all kinds of misconduct, up to and including homicide, to be protected by other officers that I actually find it refreshing to see it NOT happen.
That’s incorrect. The State pressumes innocence. The police don’t, and shouldn’t and can’t.
And on top of that, ANY involvement this officer had is a disgrace. Do you not agree with that?
It’s certainly nice to not see everyone rally around, but I think you can distance yourself without throwing the guy to the wolves, too.
@Scott – the State presumes innocence, and the Police are the enforcers of the State, and thus part of it. Just sayin’. If he’s guilty, then he’s the disgrace, but not until. The presumption of innocence is an important concept, we shouldn’t be so quick to throw it away.
You’re still incorrect. The judge and the police have very different roles and require different pressumptions for justice to work.
Read up on it.
Or defend your wrongness.
Whatever, but it’s post like this that make me seldom read your blog.
Not a huge surprise, with Lanier and her department’s roadblock debacle last year when they had a party with presuming guilt on motorists.