FORUM
Renegade Cops Terrorize America's Inner Cities
When proponents for Mumia Abu Jamal con
tend that he was a victim of a police frame up
many within larger White society dismiss this view
as mere fantasy. But recent revelations by retired
Los Angeles police officer Mark Fuhrman again
confirm what those who dwell in the occupied ter
htories, the ghettos, barrios and reservations know
all too well. There are renegade cops within police
departments throughout this country that terrorize
and prey on oppressed communities of color. Offi
cer Fuhrman brazenly discussed the racism in the
LAPD, the police brutality, the planting of evi
dence to frame those who fall in disfavor with the
fuithorities, and the wall of secrecy/silence which
protects the misdeeds of rogue cops.
J The phenomenon of renegade cops is not con
fined to Los Angeles, however, and the litany of
police misconduct is far greater than even Fuhrman
revealed. Those who live in the occupied territo
ries know that the numbers racket, prostitution, and
the drug traffic could not exist without the knowl
edge, complicity and participation of elements
within police agencies at various levels. And, peo
ple of color within police agencies are not immune
from being consumed by this sub-culture of police
brutality, police crime and corruption.
Investigations in New York City over the last
two years have uncovered a cesspool of police cor
# ?
ruption with_
scores of rogue"
cops involved in
drug trafficking,
taking bribes, and
targeting victims
for false arrest or
liquidation. In
Washington D.C.,*
a ring of renegade
VANTAGE POINT
By RON DANIELS
cops was also discovered deeply involved in the
drug traffic. Within the last month, the city of
Philadelphia was stunned by revelations that a
band of cops had terrorized a neighborhood for
nearly two years, engaging in a range of criminal
activities and targeting untold numbers of commu
nity residents for false arrests, thereby hurling
them into the jaws of the prison-jail industrial com
plex. The horror stories emanating from Los
Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and Washington
D.C. are merely a reflection of a pervasive problem
in American society; the callous degradation,
exploitation and oppression of communities of
color, the ghettos, barrios and reservations.
This problem is not confined to local police
departments, however. What is true of local police
departments is also true of federal police and intel
ligence agencies. Racism within federal agencies
run view is no doubt just the tip of the iceberg.
Studies have also pointed to the connection
between renegade federal officers and the interna
tional drug traffic. And, the propensity of federal
intelligence agencies to target activist and dis
senters through Cointelpro type operations is well
known.
The point is that renegade cops at all levels are
out of control, wreaking havoc on communities of
color and acting to stifle dissent/opposition. In the
ghettos, barrios and reservations, the problem is
not just crime. All too often the problem is that the
criminals are rogue cops.
Community crime watch programs and com
munity policing alone will not solve the problem.
In order to stop the victimization of our communi
ties by cops out of control, police agencies and
authorities must be accountable to and under the
is rampant. The
discovery of the
"Good Of Boys
Roundup"
where hundreds
of federal offi
cers gather each
year with racist
? banners and
paraphernalia in
control of the community. Therefore, we must
struggle for community control of the police at the
local level and the dismantling of the national
security state at the federal level. The primary
mechanism for police accountability at the local
level is strong civilian police review boards with
investigative authority and the enforcement power
to back up the discovery of misconduct with
appropriate discipline.
Good cops have nothing to fear from civilian
police review boards. Unfortunately, police
unions, under the guise of maintaining the author
ity, and morale of the cops, vigorously oppose
civilian police review boards. The police are often
supported in this position by a naive public which
still refuges to believe that there are significant
numbers of cops who are capable of heinous acts
of police misconduct.
This sentiments by police unions and the pub
lic notwithstanding, communities of color must
wage a relentless struggle/campaign to control the
police. Based on what we know in the occupied
territories, we will either win the battle to control
the police or renegade cops will continue to terror
ize the ghettos, the barrios and reservations.
(Ron Danish ia a Nmtiommlty Syndicated
Columnist m).
If Our Children are our Future...
If Jesse Jackson is right and the true measure
6f a nation is how we treat or children and our
dderly, the recent statistics on U.S. children show
(hat we don't measure up well at all. In a nation of
dreat resources and great wealth, children in the
United States are poorer than children in other
Western, industrialized countries. Amidst great
Wealth our children suffer in great poverty.
" The Luxembourg Income Study was recently
released which showed that only in Israel and Ire- .
land, two nations which have been caught up in
War, are poor children worse off than our poor chil
dren. Indeed, the United States has the most pros
perous children in the world, while having nearly
the poorest.
The study measures the annual incomes of the
poorest families, including government benefits
like food stamps and tax credits. But the study
cioes not. inplud^ free government services, like
free medical and child care services available in
many European countries, which would probably
push the U.S. even lower on the list.
These figures come at a time when 22 percent
of American children live in poverty. These fig
ures come at a time when the government is about
to dismantle food stamps, cut back tax credits for
the poor and cut both child care and welfare bene
fits for single mothers.
ATI write this, debate on wel farefcformis
swirling around in the Senate, where Senator Dole
is still trying to get enough votes to pass his
reform, which
reflects the Con
tract with Amer
ica's positions.
Meanwhile, oth
ers, including
Senators Dodd,
Kennedy, Hatch
and Breaux, are
introducing
amendments to put back into ; the budget child care
funds, and to eliminate some of the most danger
ous provisions of the Dole Bill. Still other Sena
tors are introducing amendments which would fur
ther punish poor women and children, such as
including foster care and adoption assistance pro
grams in the sweeping cuts.
But where in the Congressional debate is the
voice of poor women? Where are the voices and
faces of the children w1k> will be most impacted by
these cuts? Where is the voice of reason which
reminds the nation that we are all measured not by
the strength of how much we are able to cut the
CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL
By BERNICE POWELL JACKSON
budget or cut
taxes, for the
wealthy, but by
how we treat the
most vulnerable?
The Commu
nity Childhood
Hunger Identifi
cation Project
has found that 13
million poof children ifhder Age 12 are hungry or at
risk of hunger. Thirteen million hungry children in'
a nation of great wealth, in a nation that proposes
to give tax money back to the rich. The Depart
ment of Agriculture recently estimated that had
food stamp programs been block granted as pro
posed, $43 billion in benefits to needy people
would have been lost and that states would have
been forced to eliminate 17 million people - half of
.them. chilclr^^rr^.jCroirL the food stamp program.
As a child growing up in the Nation's Capital,
1 vividly remember President Lyndon Johnson call
ing this nation into a War on Poverty. I remember
his challenge that we as a nation must do better so
that no child would be hungry, so that every child
would, have a bed and an opportunity to learn.
How have we lost that commitment and that com
passion in only a generation? If our children
our future, are we as a nation saying there is
place for poor children and, like the biblical Is;
they must be sacrificed? Or, if poor children are
be part of our future, how can we sacrifice th
future of our nation by not providing child <
r 5*9$. ,**?-. * - >
(Bernice Powell Jacks** is executive direct 4
of United Church of Christ Commission fa
Racial Justice).
; Make Sure Your Home is Fully Protected
Your home may be the most
important single investment you will
fnake in our lifetime. So protect that
investment by carrying adequate
insurance.
How much home
insurance do you need?
?These suggestions may
help you decide.
c Take time to learn
what homeowner policies
and overages are avail- m
able. Then carefully
decide the type of policy
and the amount of coverage that will
tte best for you.
If you are buying insurance for
the first time, check with the leading
institution, real estate firm, your ,
attorney, or friends for the name of a
Reputable home insurance agent and
Company.
*' If your home is not new, ask the
previous owners what amounts of
coverage they were carrying.
\ If you already have homeowners
insurance, call you agent concerning
the amount of coverage you should
be carrying on your home.
I
A homeowner's policy will state
that to collect the full cost of replace
ment for a home, you must have it
insure for at least 80 percent or more
ment value of your home and insure
it at 80% of that value.
-Consider insuring your home
for full value or more, or securing a
HOME ECONOMICS
By JOANNN J. FALLS
b
of the full replacement value.
Since the purpose of insurance is
to protect you against financial disas
ter, don't try to save money by
underinsuring.
It could be the worst mistake you
could make.
Tips to follow in determining
total insurance needs:
-Make a complete inventory of
household possession with estimated
values both to help determine how
much coverage to buy and to use in
making claims.
-Find out the current replace
_ special endorsement
if household belong
ings and personal
possessions exceed
I 50% of the value of
your home.
-Consider larger
deductibles to reduce
~ premiums, particu
larly if you want
maximum coverage at lowest rate for
major losses and are able and willing
to sustain minor losses.
-Review coverage periodically.
Property values, inflations, taxes
and mortgage replacement cost and
appraisal value should be considered
in determining the amount of insur
ance.
Ask an unbiased insurance agent
about the proper coverage for your
needs.
(Joann J. Falls is the Home
Economics Agent),
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