LETTERS: Abusive behavior of police force

To the Editor: The police in my hometown were abusive. They asked questions when they had no right and used excessive force to break up parties. However, I assumed all this was because in Kingston, Pa., there isn't much else for the police to do. In Philadelphia however, there is plenty else to do. Still, the police persist in using Gestapo tactics in their cowardly actions against the innocent. When good people are finally driven to lash out against this ongoing abuse, the "peace officers" simply step up their bully-boy antics. For example, last spring we were having a fire in my backyard -- a completely legal activity in Philadelphia. An officer driving by saw the fire and came into the yard (her first unlawful act since the yard is fenced and she was not let in). Then she ordered us to put out the fire. When we informed her that all was perfectly legal, she called in another officer who offered to arrest us if we didn't comply. Since the police seemingly have unlimited authority to design rules to their wishes -- forget actual laws -- we put out the fire. Or just the other night when coming back from a Speech and Debate tournament at 4 a.m. I was pulled over for having a burned out tail-light. However, the officer seemed uninterested the minor infraction but much more in if I had a gun. He asked several times and only stopped the harassment when I offered to let him search the car. Now correct me if I'm wrong but is having a blown tail-light probable cause that I have a gun? And furthermore, even if I did have a gun, do I not have a right to ?keep and bear arms? The president of Pi Kappa Phi said it best in a quote in the DP last week asserting "I don't think the police were angels either." ("Incidents at Pi Kap, ZBT spur inquiries," DP, 10/23/97) This characterizes every incident I've seen involving the police. The same article also quotes Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush saying, "Abusive behavior towards the police is not going to be tolerated." Frankly, Rush, you should be far more concerned with abusive behavior from the police. All of these events are simply indicative of the abuse that I, and presumably the rest of the University community, face everyday. One step to improving campus life, or life in any city, is to get rid of the police. Let Spectaguard fill the void -- at least they're held accountable for their actions. Benjamin Shoval Wharton '00