According to Karl Jaspers, a well-known psychologist, a delusion is a belief held with certainty; not changeable by compelling counterargument or proof; and false of content or untrue. In fact, it may be argued that many in the region hold to various layers of delusion that ultimately are the major stumbling blocks to the advance of democracy and group harmony.
Who can remain unmoved by the horror story of an El Pasoan who was arrested and served a prison sentence only to be found innocent 13 years later thanks to DNA testing. The case illustrates the overzealous push to find a guilty party despite the corroborating evidence or lack thereof. Will there ever come a time in which the law enforcement officials that pursued the case and developed the evidence will be held accountable for their actions?
Not too long ago, I had occasion to look at the way things were done at Internal Affairs. A complaint is filed, all the information is given to an interviewer and 6 months later the complainant receives a very polite letter that everything was done perfectly by the police officers. The only thing missing is a note inviting the aggrieved party to not hesitate to file another complaint. In other words, the Police Department is never wrong.
The Border Observer attempted to obtain, more specific, information regarding the number of complaints and their disposition--to no avail. The police continue to deny response to our publication. This posture, that the City Manager and Police Administration are no accountable, is unacceptable.
The only time there is administrative or other action taken, is when there is an actual record of the event or a witness.
Another case in point was the time a police officer beat a youngster in Central El Paso. It would have been swept under the rug had it not been for the fact that a significant other of one of the city representatives witnessed the beating.
But, let's be fair. I have known people who in my opinion not only deserve a beating but would do well to serve the rest of their lives in jail. People, such as those that beat their spouses severely, or criminals who purposely hurt others to the point of severe injury or death, certainly are not deserving of sympathy. However, law enforcement officials cannot assume that all suspects are guilty until proven innocent.
If I feel my loved ones are threatened, I want to feel safe calling 911. I do not want to worry that a SWAT team will swoop down on my house and shoot me dead because I have cell phone in my hand and then claim I wanted the glory of "suicide by cop." I want to trust our men in blue. More than, I feel most people want to respect them not fear them.
The commentary by the 14-year veteran of the police department in Juarez is poignant. He states that police are always the bad guy no matter what they do and points to layers of corruption in the system of which he is a part. It is a matter of degree as well. The comments are a wake up call for El Paso.
As a community, every effort must be made to professionalize law enforcement. George DeAngelis, a former police officer and whistleblower, provided city council with a laundry list of prudent, well-thought through suggestions for improving the department.
His reward was a sound town lynching in the form of attacks on his integrity and reputation. In addition, his suggestions were killed by the city manager and the Council majority under the artifice that there was a lawsuit pending. This is game playing at its best and public policy at its worst.
Among the suggestions were items related to dealing with crises, handling mentally unstable suspects and providing adequate rest to all law enforcement personnel. Would recent shooting victim William Ecker be alive today had Mr. DeAngelis's suggestions been followed? I do not know. What I do know is that the community is beginning to fear the Police Department in El Paso because of their unresponsiveness.
El Paso deserves the best Police Department not because they harass and oppress the citizenry but because they Protect And Serve them.
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This perspective first appeared in Border Observer, Jaime O. Perez, Editor