Pubdate: Wed, 03 Feb 1999
Source: Danbury News-Times
contact:  http://www.newstimes.com
Author: Stacey Zimmerman
(Newshawk note:  Scott Santa-Maria was a CT state legislator and police
officer who was known for being an outspoken 'troublemaker'.  He shot
himself to death in late January near the grave of his friend.)

THERE'S HYPOCRISY IN POLICE TALK VS. ACTION

When we look at the criminal justice system, is it possible to find
justice?  This is a question we must ask to obtain the democracy we've been
taught to believe in.

In the wake of the shooting of an unarmed man in New Milford, and the
suicide of the one officer who dared to speak the truth about such police
aggresion, we must stop and question the "blue wall" of silence. This wall
is a barrier between civilians and police.

Our youth are taught to turn in parents, relatives and friends for
recreational drug use  by the police-sponsored DARE programs across the
country, yet police are chastised if they speak out against police abuse.

This hypocrisy must stop.  What has become of America?  Our civilian police
are becoming more militant and our children are becoming the system's
Gestapo  I'm afraid for the nation's Constitution and Bill of Rights.  I'm
afraid for those who speak out about the abuses, and most of all I'm afraid
for those who choose not to see it.

This fear should not exist in America.  We must be vigilant against
oppression.  As Jim Morrison said, "Adolph Hitler is alive and well and
living in Miami."  We must remember fascism sprouts through unchecked
force.

Thank you, Scott Santa-Maria.  You were a friend to me and democracy.

Stacey Zimmerman
Danbury

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