Some things make me so angry I can’t think straight. Police brutality and corruption is one.
Today I saw in the news the story of Tony Arambula.
I recommend clicking-on-through to YouTube and reading the full description on the side.
This incident is now making national news because a 911 tape has been released, which picked up the cops immediately plotting a cover-up, and it exposes the lies that the Phoenix Police Department told after the fact.
The area of the United States I grew up in is notorious for police corruption, I am very sensitive to this, and when I see news about police brutality, it lingers with me.
If I’m ever on a celebrity game show, there’s no question as to what cause I’ll be raising money.
I’ve officially decided trying to stop police brutality, corruption, and misconduct is now my bag. I’ve been considering “my bag” for awhile.
After seeing the video of the UCLA student tasered by University police in the Powell Library, a couple of years ago (see how the case was resolved), I started thinking, and looking for macro solutions.
The best my mental processer cycles can devise is a website. It would work like this…
First, it would link to news stories about police misconduct, to try to expose, and raise awareness of the problem- of course.
It would provide information about how to file a complaint, if someone felt that they were wronged, and explain your legal protections to do so.
These are givens; here’s what would really make it work…
The bad cop award.
A visitor to the site could tell their story and nominate a police officer for a misconduct in the line of duty award. To sensationalize the award and make it memorable, the award would be known as a “piggy.”
The visitor nominating a police officer for this award could attach their name or remain anonymous.
The technical IT part of the bad cop award, would more or less work like this… the visitor fills out a form, the information generates a webpage using a html template search engine optimized for the name of the offending officer and the police department. A cron job runs a site index generator through the new pages to make sure they get indexed in the major search engines as fast as possible.
This SEOed-out name optimized webpage IS the award.
When someone Googles or Bings the police officer’s name or the name of the department, the award presents itself.
This site would go one step farther; it would offer the visitor a printable certificate copy of the award including the address of the police department to which the visitor could physically mail the certificate of shame, letting that officer know that he or she will forever be linked on the Internet to misconduct.
The site maybe able to get the addresses of police departments around the country by searching Google Maps for “police” and the zip code, Google gives the addresses if it’s possible to strip everything else.
Anyway, imagine a corrupt rural sheriff (Ralph Baker, soon to be a movie) or this urban Phoenix police officer Brian Lilly getting thousands of letters (piggy awards) sent to their department praising them for a bad job.
Imagine the awkwardness of a cop receiving just one.
I’m sorry, but the Greek chorus has spoken… here’s your piggy!
Big city, little town, rural, it doesn’t matter- no police misconduct would be immune. From a traffic ticket given for out of State plates, to the verbal threats, and escalation that cops use during routine procedures, the general public would finally have an outlet.
Statistics about police misconduct from the website could be gathered, problems in the nation isolated.
If a cop wanted to sue, good luck with that, social media is a beast, and so is the ACLU.
Something like this could work, I see people doing this in unorganized forms already. It’s not wise to trust cops to police cops, giving them exclusivity over the criminal domain.
Terrence Duren, the UCLA cop (that DICKLESS piece of sh!t is STILL a university cop!) the one that tasered the kid in the library was found not to have violated any polices by an internal investigation, an independent investigation found the complete opposite and UCLA recently settled with the victim.
Brian Lilly, the Phoenix cop in the above story that shot the homeowner first in the back, three more times, and then twice when he was on the ground, was cleared of wrongdoing by a Phoenix police board, and now that the 911 tape came out, that police board and every individual on it is a laughingstock.
It’s a good thing those laughingstocks and most other police commissions, boards, internal reviews, etc. are confidential.
Brian Lilly maybe a shooter of an innocent family man in the back, but the other police officers (Sgt. Sean Coutts, etc.) agreed to go along for the ride. They tried to isolate the wounded man until he died, to cover up their tracks, but he didn’t die. I wonder if anyone has applied any RICO type/ racketeering laws to a thoroughly corrupt police force. IANAL.
Officer Mark Spencer, president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, rallied around the police officers claiming that Tony Arambula wasn’t shot in the back. Medical experts now say otherwise, the 911 tapes now prove otherwise, Mark Spencer is a fool, and a disgrace to the profession. As far as I’m concerned, he’s is now apart of the cover-up.
I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.
Using the Internet to shame cops into behaving may not be the best way to expose and stop police brutality, corruption, and misconduct, but none-the-less I’m officially putting my back into this police corruption business.
If there’s a better way, I’m listening, until then…
If you are a PHP guy who knows how to have a good time (anonymously, if you must), or you are Tony Arambula and want to donate some of what will be your six million dollar settlement to prevent future abuse by police (and like social experiments), shoot me an email.
I’ll try to show you a good time.
I’ve organized LLCs, & have marketing and SEO experience. I’ll donate time. I’ll donate an aged domain: www.stop-police-brutality.com. I’ve written several screenplays, if I have to write, I’ll write. If I have to fold envelopes, I’ll fold envelopes. Sweep floors, sweep floors.
I’m ready to get out of my comfort zone on this. I’m not absolutely certain how to proceed, but my mind and heart is now in it.
Ralph Baker, Larry Norman, Brian Lilly, Dzenan Ahmetovic, Sean Coutts, Mark Spencer, and Terrence Duren, I’m sorry, but the Greek chorus has spoken… here’s your piggy!
- J Roland Kelly
