Cops gone wild: Police departments increasingly putting civilian lives at risk by breaking protocol, engaging in 'wild west' chases, shooting innocents

Wednesday, February 27, 2013 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: police departments, wild west, shootings

(NaturalNews) The recent Waco-style killing of former Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer Christopher Dorner by a band of bloodthirsty LAPD officers serves as a grim reminder of how completely out of control the police state system can become when faced with outside threats to its own continuity. But Dorner's premeditated execution without a trial is not the only recent example of this new brand of lawless "justice," as reports continue to emerge showing that police departments all across the country routinely break protocol, abandon the law when convenient, and put the lives of countless civilians at needless risk.

Take the case of the Cleveland Police Department (CPD) in Ohio, for example, which is the subject of a new investigation by the Ohio Attorney General's office for its role in carelessly triggering a melee shootout that left two unarmed suspects dead. According to NewsNet5.com, dozens of officers trying to apprehend the two suspects who were believed to have cocaine in their systems broke protocol by joining a high-speed car chase without permission. In the end, a series of alleged miscommunication and confusion led to a massive shootout in the middle of the street that put many officers' lives at risk, not to mention the lives of countless civilians.

"This type of attitude, this head in the sand, refusal to look at the facts, could mean we could have this problem again, and next time we may have an innocent bystander who dies, or police officers who are killed, which could very well have happened this time," said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine at a recent press conference, referring to CPD's general refusal to own up to its monumental failure in this case. "People in leadership need to take responsibility. The police department failed these officers and they failed the general public."

Escalating police abuses show how law enforcement believes it is above the law

This type of scenario, of course, is disturbingly similar to what happened in the Dorner case when LAPD officers decided to spray a Toyota pickup truck with bullets because they allegedly believed Dorner was inside. It turned out that two women, and not Dorner, were in the vehicle, illustrating the complete incompetence and lawlessness of these LAPD officers in making the decision to shoot first and ask questions later. But rather than apologize and actually hold the officers accountable, LAPD chief Charlie Beck later told reporters that the incident was just a tragic case of "mistaken identity," even though the make, model, and color of the vehicle in question were all wrong.

This seems to be the general excuse often used when police departments commit gross violations that break the law and put civilians' lives at risk, as a growing sentiment among many law enforcement divisions these days is that police officers can basically do no wrong. When they shoot to kill the wrong individual, for instance, or murder someone who was unarmed, the officers involved merely have to claim they were "scared," or that they were "confused" or "threatened," and usually the issue goes away without consequence.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently investigating six cases involving the Houston Police Department (HPD) where officers used excessive force and fatally shot unarmed individuals for no legitimate reason. According to the Huffington Post, brutal force was involved in each case, as officers were found to have gunned people down for non-offenses such as holding a beer can, a ballpoint pen, and other non-threatening objects.

For a more thorough look at the extent of police abuses in America and how they often escape justice, be sure to check out the chilling documentary Why Cops Fear (because of adult content and language, viewer discretion is advised): http://youtu.be/RVmGWLsn0iM

Sources for this article include:

http://www.newsnet5.com

http://www.cleveland.com

http://www.huffingtonpost.com

http://ktla.com

http://www.naturalnews.com