Open Column ; Inquiry Needed After Police Statements

Summary

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Editor, the Tribune: To the mayor, city council and Columbia Police Department:

In the Dec. 1 article "Catching Bad Guys," two Columbia police officers stated their motives and aims as enforcers of the law. One officer remarked, "This is the fun stuff. This is why I became a police officer, to catch bad guys, and this is catching bad buys as a full-time job." Another officer commented that she "loves working dope. To me, it's like a game. It's a game to them, and it's a game to me." These are not statements one would expect from professionals in the Columbia Police Department (the words "fun stuff" and the phrase "like a game to them, and ... a game to me"). Furthermore, these revelations are deeply alarming in the way they suggest the possible interpretation that police see themselves as mirror reflections of the criminal class.

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Open Column ; Inquiry Needed After Police Statements

If these remarks represent the ethos...

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