Hunter S. Thompson Quotes
There are always risks in challenging excessive police power, but the risks of not challenging it are more dangerous, even fatal.
Thompson, Hunter S. Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star-Crossed Child in the Final Days of the American Century. Simon & Schuster, 2003.
This statement by the police commissioner was very controversial as a major form of police brutality at the time was clubbing citizens with their nightsticks which were much larger and heavier than those used today. However the effect on the police officers was to green light heavy use of the nightstick and soon there was a major incident where the police badly beat many innocent citizens in their quest to control and punish alleged leftists. Whalen was forced to resign. See {626664} and {626663}.
In many cases of police brutality, the police arrest the victim and the prosecutor agrees to drop the criminal charges if the victim agrees not to file a police brutality complaint. In Rangel’s youth there were no police review boards and if police beat young men, they were usually able to get away with it, unless the victims happened to be from rich, powerful families. In modern times, the police still get away with brutality but more and more are caught and prosecuted. However, the less police brutality is in large part due to the increased professionalism among police officers brought about by higher qualifications and much better training.
Police have been exceeding their authority under the law of the land for centuries in most nations. In the century that has passed since she wrote this quotation, there have been many reforms in American law enforcement. The situation is better but many police still exceed their authority. For centuries, most politicians have not wanted to curtail or restrict the police regardless of their human rights abuses, and most citizens did not realize the extent of police abuse. Modern media policies and technology has shed much light on the problem.
5 New York City—Staten Island--police officers were arresting a large unarmed Black man, and one of them used a “choke hold” which was against Departmental Regulations. The man cried out several times that he was having trouble breathing and he was choking, until he was choked to death. The coroner ruled that a crime had been committed and the death was a homicide. However, the Staten Island District Attorney and his Grand Jury refused to even indict the officer that did the choking. Staten Island was a very conservative, white enclave in New York City. See {642459}.
Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author, and the founder of the gonzo journalism movement. He first rose to prominence with the publication of Hell's Angels (1967), a book for which he spent a year living and riding with the Hells Angels motorcycle club to write a first-hand account of the lives and experiences of its members.
