The Vanbuskirk's last stop

In May, I posted about Detective David VanBuskirk.

Since then, well, he was sentenced to jail, now has a criminal record, and has lost his job as a police officer. You would think that with all the media shakeup over this event, one that caused the Police Chief, Gary Smith, to resign, and caused the acting police chief Al Frederick and Police Board Chairman Mayor Eddie Francis to state that there needs to be a change in police culture.


What does that mean. Really? I mean, I work at a place that employs 350 others. If one of them does wrong, and tries to weasel their way out of it, I don't think my workplace needs a "Change of Culture." So does the police?


Well, if it were one or two isolated incidents, I would say no, there does not need to be a change. But there are more than just one or two incidents.


So why does the culture need to be changed. Its not that there are a few bad apples in the bunch, and this is a case of that. But the fact that the bad apples have set procedures that allow them to be bad apples without repercussions. This, by default, tells officers that if you have a bad day, or make a mistake, that it's ok, and you'll be protected no matter what.


THAT is the culture that needs to change. That is what we need to focus on. The police are there to serve the public, no the other way around. They need to be held accountable for their actions. But in all of this, we have to remember this. They cannot just be held accountable for their negative actions, but their positive ones too.


If an officer does the right thing, saves a life, stops a criminal, diffuses a situation. Especially when he or she does so without resorting to violence, they need to be recognized and commended. When they do fail and make mistakes or poor judgement, they need to be held accountable, but even then, we have to remember that these are the people who have to make hard decisions in the most stressfull circumstances we have. They should be givin the benefit of the doubt.


If it is found that they abused their authority, as in the VanBuskirk case, however, an example needs to be set. To let the police know that they are not above the law.


No one is.