tale about policewoman frustration - coming soon

By police abuse, we mean the inappropriate and illegal use of police powers to coerce, harass, intimidate, arrest, assault and kill members of our community. Police abuse also occurs in the form of racial profiling, illegal roadblocks and illegal searches. The victims of police abuse are often the usual targets of institutional discrimination: racial minorities, homeless people, gays, youth and anyone who protests against the system. It can happen, however, to anybody. In Louisville, the abuse occurs often enough that almost everyone knows someone who has been harassed, jacked up, beaten or arrested. All of us have heard about the men who have been killed by the police.

Because of this abuse and the lack of accountability to the community, many people don't see the police as "public servants". Police are seen as part of the power structure in this community that oppresses them. And the problem is worsened by the fact that our political leaders rarely speak out against this violence and sometimes give a wink and a nod when it happens blaming the victims. Police abuse and other forms of criminal injustice pose a threat to the foundations of our democracy. It adds to the frustration and hopelessness of people who already feel abandoned and serves to further undermine the trust that citizens have in their government.