Monday, September 15, 2008

Loss of local control and accountability over law enforcement:

The merger of Lake Worth’s Police with the County Sheriff reminds me of an old axiom from American revolutionary Tom Paine about government, applying particularly to its law enforcement: “...even in its best state, [it] is a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.”

Having direct oversight over that armed patrols of the government is a fundamental right and responsibility of the public. Losing access to that right is a clear indicator of a slip away from the democracy that we are supposed to be striving towards as a society. The immediate reality of that is very likely to be felt in our neighborhoods, especially among our neighbors who already have the least access to the public process, specifically: new immigrants, youth, and all lower-income residents. When the Lake Worth City Commission requested information regarding statistics for misconduct to decide on the merger, the information was denied.
The sad reality of the picture couldn’t have been painted more clearly than it was this weekend in Royal Palm Beach, where Sheriff Deputy, Eric Bethel, shot and killed 16-year-old Ruben Charles DeBrosse during a traffic stop involving a stolen car. Bethel, a former Marine, joined the Palm Beach Sheriff when the Royal Palm Police were absorbed by the County in 2006. It appears very clear that the shooting could have been avoided, as the officer was not in immediate danger for his life. The punishment for auto theft is not death; the Sheriff is not a jury.

Where the Town of Royal Palm may have been able to urge thorough investigation and bring grievances over the matter to the Town two years ago, they are now forced to deal with the issue at the County level, where accountability is far out of reach from the public (we can take two County Commissioners in prison for corruption as evidence).

While Police may be a part of dealing with crime in Lake Worth they not the solution to the safety in our neighborhoods. Safety is more than the absence of criminals; it is the presence of a healthy, active and involved community—a community where people have access to what they need and opportunities to grow connected with the place they live. Merging with the police is the OPPOSITE of this holistic approach to safety. It has been made clear that this merger will actually strain the budget, increasing taxes and likely forcing the City to cut community services that it provides as well as the wages of other workers in the City. It also cuts the City out from negotiating wages with our local law enforcement.

"We always want to have a military solution to everything or police solution to everything. Folks, we're going to break ourselves financially trying to find solution to everything with military, with police," said Javier Del Sol. (Sun-Sentinel, 8/4/08)

The Lake Worth Police Department already has a history of its own in misconduct, profiling, corruption, and brutality, which we have been addressing for years at the City level. And we have had enough trouble keeping control over the police budget at the City level. Now, all of these factors will be further from the hands of our neighborhoods. The County, which includes the Sheriff Department, has become famous across the State for corruption and misconduct. There is no reason that we would expect accountability from them.
With this merger decision we are at risk of moving further from democracy and closer towards a Police State. Once again we, the public, must remain vigilant through this terrible decision that has been forced on us from above out of the self-interest of law enforcement and the facade of safety for the middle-class. And now our responsibility has broadened, as now we must take part in addressing the Sheriff’s decisions and actions.

Today, we demand immediate investigation of Sheriff Deputy Eric Bethel, and justice for the family of Ruben DeBrosse. And we send a clear message to Ric Bradshaw: while we lament the merger, we will not be silenced by it. We will stand against corruption, police violence and injustice; our claim of democracy demands this from us.

Another famous American, Ben Franklin, put it this way: "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

[written by panagioti tsolkas, Lake Worth Resident, member of the Palm Beach Global Justice Group and co-chair of the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition. He can be contacted at PBCEnviroCoalition@gmail.com]

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