I got this story from June Wortman’s newsletter. She calls the incident harrowing, and I can’t disagree. The rapidity with which police forces escalate encounters with citizens who don’t behave exactly as they would wish, or worse, actually insist on being treated with respect and accorded their civil rights, is increasingly reminiscent of how an occupying army treats the indigenous population: always assume the worst and shoot first, ask questions later.
That’s certainly not to say that there aren’t conscientious and properly trained officers in every service. In fact, I’d say that such fine public servants are clearly the rule. But the psychology of us-versus-them, which has always characterized law enforcement work, has in recent years been exacerbated by the wars (on drugs, on terror, on immigrants) in which stereotypes, prejudice, and contempt for the ‘perps’ (that’s ‘us’ by the way, not just ‘them’) have become a central feature of law enforcement. This has created permissive political climate toward law enforcement excesses.
We shouldn’t tolerate lazy and abusive law enforcers any more than we should tolerate lazy and abusive prosecutors, judges, doctors, or bankers. Law enforcement is a profession and the means they have a great deal of discretion in their work and are granted a great deal of self-policing authority (internal affairs are police, after all). They may be unconscionably under-paid, but they should be held to the very highest standards of ethical and professional conduct nonetheless.
Police and other law enforcement are like any other profession: if you give them too much latitude or fail to impose vigorous oversight of their professional practices, some members of the profession will respond by cutting corners and getting away with whatever they can. There is an ever-growing tolerance of shoddy and abusive police practices by our lawmakers, our courts, and our executive leaders in the pursuit of results above all else. I see the real results every day in my work, in horror stories such as the following, and in the tragedies that result from police abusing their authority and resorting to force with a hair trigger that we read about all too frequently. This story could easily have had a far worse outcome.
Border Patrol Incident
7:30 am, November 27, 2007"I was forcibly pulled over by the
Border Patrol on my way to work. I have traveled the Arivaca Road
every day for the past 10 years, mostly without incident. I have
been harassed a few times. Bright lights in the rear view mirror,
tailgating etc. But up until now I haven’t ever had any real
trouble. I’ve heard stories of people being hurt, held at
gunpoint, forced from their vehicles. This list goes on. My sister
was hit in the face, dragged from her vehicle, thrown to the ground
and handcuffed with her face in the dirt. I can’t say that in
light of these things I feel very safe when it comes to the Border
PatrolI have always been told, in every
self-defense class, even those taught by law enforcement, that you
should go to a populated area before you pull over for anyone you
don’t know including law enforcement. Slow down, pull over to the
right side of the road as far as possible without leaving the
pavement and continue to drive slowly until you reach a populated
area.Border patrol turned on their
flashing
lights behind me at about the 20 mile marker after following me for
about 4 miles. I did what I was taught. I slowed down to 20 miles
per hour, pulled to the side of the road and continued to drive. They
followed me for a little ways and then the first Border Patrol
pulled in front of me and cut me off. I hit the brakes and the
second Border Patrol sandwiched me in. Both jumped out of their
vehicles and pulled their guns. They screamed at me several times to
get out of my vehicle. I told them no and they continued screaming
at me. “Roll down the window. Get out the vehicle. Why do you
hate authority?” etc. I tried to explain that I was moving slowly
toward a populated area. I told them that stories of abuse abound. Just
a mile down the road was the Cow Palace. There would be people
there.He told me “No, you’ve already
proven that you’re going to run.They finally allowed me to pull to
the
side of the road so that we weren’t obstructing traffic. Five more
BP showed up. I didn’t leave my vehicle. They called the Pima
County Sheriff.The sheriff came. He asked for my ID
and I gave it to him. I told him they had pulled their guns on me. He
told me that I could be charged with a felony for not stopping
immediately. I explained to him that my sister had been abused by
them and that I just wanted to get to a safe place before I pulled
over. He then told me that I had only to pull over and show them my
ID. Other than that I’m not required to do anything further.We waited until they ran a check on
me.
He handed me back my ID and told me I could go. They never told my
why I was pulled over.For the record I am a 49 year old
grandmother. I have blond hair and blue eyes. I drive a small truck
and I work at a book store."From June Wortman: I know this woman
who
works in the Book Shop in Green Valley. The above will be published December 1st in THE CONNECTION, an
excellent, free, monthly paper published in Amado and available at
the Green Valley Library and other sites. It will also be posted on http://junesrag.pbwiki.com for anyone who
wants to click into it.