Watching the video of Randal Worcester getting beaten by three white police officers in Mulberry, Arkansas, was like the merciless attack on Rodney King in 1991, only this time the victim was white.
In our opinion it makes no difference what an individual’s color or race, gender or nationality is, for someone to be repeatedly kneed to the pavement, and sometimes have his head pressed against it, with the officers taking turns pounding and kicking him is reprehensible and requires more than the reported suspensions.
We agree completely with the outrage expressed by several civic and national leaders, particularly Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League.
“The excessive force used against Randal Worchester by officers in Arkansas is the latest example of why we focus our reform efforts on police accountability and restoring community trust,” said Morial.
“The violent tactics used to subdue Mr. Worchester went well beyond police protocol, run counter to proper police training methods and do not appear to be warranted in any way. Incidents like this deepen the distrust between communities and the police, violating their duty to protect and serve. Distrust is especially true in underserved and over policed communities, like communities of color and the disability community. The National Urban League created its 21 Pillars proposal to promote police accountability and good policing and to ensure states and localities have a range of strategies for responding to public safety matters, including non-carceral strategies.”
Too many cops on patrol are out of control, practically psychopathic when they have a suspect in custody. We know you’ve heard all the things that need to be done to curb such behavior, and the only one that may have some real consequence of preventing or at least minimizing these aggressive, brutal encounters is better measures at the very beginning of the process—the testing. Something must be done to winnow out the bad apples, as they say. A highly developed form of psychological screening is necessary because most of these beatings, excessive chokeholds, and knees on the neck have deep roots of hatred, and merely need the right moment to torment.
We have no credentials on this matter, only a sense of hopelessness and a wish that those in place can find a way to minimize, to recognize those who are walking time bombs just waiting for an opportunity to exert the meanness of their spirit. We need to keep them out of uniforms and off the force.