COPS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

Thursday’s Houston Chronicle called for an investigation of the Houston Police Department.

HPD had been plagued with the mishandling of evidence and contrived reports by crime lab personnel and the lab had an enormous backlog of rape evidence kits. And now it has been revealed that some detectives in the homicide division have failed to properly investigate their cases.

The Chronicle is also highly critical of HPD for not doing anything about ‘rampant and unpunished police brutality in Houston’ as reported by the Texas Observer, a far-left publication. And, of course, it is highly critical of HPD for not doing anything about its own story revealing that a quarter of the people shot by HPD cops in the past five years were unarmed. Here is how the Chronicle put it:

HPD has also yet to properly address a lauded two-part article by Texas Observer writer Emily DePrang documenting rampant and unpunished police brutality in Houston. Nor has HPD taken significant steps to address police shootings, even after a series of articles by Chronicle reporter James Pinkerton revealed that a quarter of civilians shot by HPD over the past five years had been unarmed.

Police misconduct should never go unpunished. The past crime lab problems and now the homicide division problems are inexcusable. However, the charges of police brutality and shootings are easy to make if you're not in the shoes of a cop. While there have been cases in which HPD cops used excessive force and there have been a few questionable shootings, in the overwhelming number of cases, the amount of force used and the shootings appear justified when one places himself in the shoes of the cops.

It’s very easy to second guess a cop for shooting an unarmed man. But at the time, that cop may have righteously believed the person he confronted was armed and an imminent threat to his life and limb. And let’s not overlook the fact that cops have been killed or seriously injured when overpowered by persons that were unarmed.

The problem is, it's all in the eye of the beholder. And if the beholders are left-wing journalists who have never walked one inch in the shoes of a law enforcement officer, you know how they are going to judge the actions of the ‘storm troopers.’