Paddywagon Speaks Out on Police Issues

[DMaximus 1,046]

Calgary Wranglers defenseman Charlie Paddywagon is the son of a police officer. When Charlie was a teen, his father was imprisoned for killing a civilian while driving drunk. Although his father’s crime is unrelated to current issues, Charlie learned some valuable lessons from his father’s actions and words.  Paddywagon, who has remained relatively silent since he was thrust into the spotlight during the FBI investigation into the VHL a few seasons ago, requested to speak with members of the media. He wanted to share his thoughts on George Floyd and the worldwide protests against police brutality.

Paddywagon’s statement began “The primary lesson my father taught me is that in order to maintain a just society, justice must be available to all members of society. That includes making police officers accountable for their actions and ensuring minorities have the same access to justice other members in society enjoy. I think we’re failing on both fronts today.”

 

“It was a shock when my father was convicted. Many thought it violated the ‘brotherhood of police’, whatever that means. But in reality, he got what he deserved. He committed a crime and he should have been convicted. It’s as simple as that. Just because a person is in a cop uniform does not give them the permission to act above the law. I’m sure most people agree with that, but what we see time and again is that when a policeman abuses their power and they commit a crime, including murder, they almost never get convicted. Many don’t even get charged with a crime. That is wrong. We need to end police protection of other police wrongdoing.”

 

“I hear a lot of people dismiss police brutality as ‘one bad apple’ but for that bad apple to exist many ‘good apples’ need to ignore the actions of the bad apple. The entire police system is setup to protect ‘bad apples’ from being identified and rooted out from the force. How is it possible that a cop can have double digit complaints filed against them and nothing happen to them? Then when they commit a crime they are half as likely to be convicted and incarcerated than normal civilians. One major step toward justice is that we need to drastically increase police accountability.”

 

“The other part of this issue is how we can ensure equal justice for all minority groups in our society. This is a very deep-rooted issue whose solution begins with us listening to and empathizing with minorities.  Giving even a cursory look at statistics or a brief listen to a minority’s experience leads to the conclusion that our justice system is not equal for all races. It begins with cops, continues through the court system, prison system, and continues even after release from prison.  Every step of the way minorities are treated differently than whites. That is systemic racism. We as a society need to understand what systemic racism is and acknowledge it exists in our society and that we all play a part in contributing to both the problem and the solution.”

 

Paddywagon concluded, “Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts. I will not be taking questions at this time.”

[Andre LeBastard 112]

Nice post. Well thought out and well written. I didn't think it needed any embellishment (colour, images, etc), whatsoever to jazz it up.

Topical and interesting to read from start to finish. Good job, I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

 

8.5/10