Recently, an extremely terrifying event took place in Philadelphia. On Sept. 30, during the city’s Puerto Rican Day celebrations, a police officer brutality punched an innocent woman in the face. The video was uploaded to Youtube:
This type of incident lead to a lot of questions.
- How frequently do incidents like this occur? This incident was captured on video and thus quickly gained media attention. How many more times does police brutality go totally undetected?
- What can we do to make sure that there is accountability in place so that incidents like this don’t happen again?
- What will happen to this officer? Will he be fully prosecuted?
The truth of the matter is that police officers sometimes make decisions under pressure–and like in the case of this unfortunate woman–sometimes the results are very dangerous. Police officers are human beings just like the rest of us. They are subject to making bad decisions. They can misperceive situations. They can make the wrong call. While it is important for us to want to believe the police, it is also vitally important that we no accept everything they say as if it is gospel or accept everything they do as justified.
Justin McShane
PA DUI attorney Justin J. McShane is the President/CEO of The McShane Firm, LLC - Pennsylvania's top criminal law and DUI law firm. He is the highest rated DUI attorney in PA as rated by Avvo.com. Justin McShane is a double Board certified attorney. He is the first and so far the only Pennsylvania attorney to achieve American Bar Association recognized board certification in DUI defense from the National College for DUI Defense, Inc. He is also a Board Certified Criminal Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, a Pennsylvania Supreme Court Approved Agency.