What does it take to get bad cops fired? The death of a woodchuck.
Tyler Sammon, a 3-year member of the force, and officer Matt Spath are accused of intentionally chasing down an exhausted woodchuck — also known as a groundhog or a whistlepig — on a Troy golf course until it collapsed, and then running it over as horrified witnesses looked on.
Saying an investigation is ongoing, Police Chief Rick Fusco has suspended both officers — with pay — but said that is not the end of it.
“If in fact this alleged situation happened, I will be recommending they be terminated,” he said. “There is no room in any police agency for a person like this to be carrying a badge and a gun.”
[…]
Although Spath was only a passenger in the cart, Fusco said he was equally culpable.
“The other officer has an obligation to come forward if something intentionally was done like that,” Fusco said before adding, “It’s awful. It’s humiliating. I’ve been through a lot in this department and this is the most humiliating.”
I’m all for these two assclowns being fired, and I agree with the Police Chief, but…how is it that two cops can get busted for wanton cruelty to a woodchuck, and not be held responsible in any way whatsoever for the countless deaths of Persons of Colour? Right now, a review is going on of the cops who murdered Paul O’Neal, and I’m hoping to hell those cops are going to get much more punishment than simple suspension, but I won’t count on it. Just like in the case of the murder of Loreal Tsinginge, the body cams were somehow magically off when the shooting took place.
Via Raw Story.
how is it that two cops can get busted for wanton cruelty to a woodchuck, and not be held responsible in any way whatsoever for the countless deaths of Persons of Colour?
The witnesses were golfers.
Fuck this shit.
Well, possibly because they haven’t caused any deaths of persons of color. There’s precious little information I can find about the Rensselaer police department, but I didn’t see any stories about civilians being killed by any of them. I did find one where the police chief’s son recently got 3-9 years for a fatal DUI crash (AFAICT, the range specified by law is 3-15 years). So, maybe the chief would be on the side of justice if a person were killed by one of his officers.
Tl;dr summary: the lives of wild rodents are more important that the lives of American citizens with darker skin.
Should be grounds for automatic suspension with recommendation for termination. If the cameras were turned off on purpose, the termination should proceed.