[Trigger warning, NSFW language]
In this video, we see a Chicago police officer not following procedure (to say the least), and assaulting a passenger on a CTA bus that allegedly did not pay his fare. The officer slams the man's head against the window of the bus at least twice, punches the man, and (in my opinion, anyway) attempts to goad the man into fighting back. The other passengers are terrified. The officer gets very threatening when the cameraman asks for his badge number.
As Liss said in her recent post detailing another appalling police assault, I don't hate cops. However, looking at this, and Liss' post, and the recent shooting of Oscar Grant, and Digby's many posts on tasering, I have to wonder, as has been discussed here in the past, how much the Bush Administration's casual use of torture, the Right's casual dismissal of, or outright cheering on torture, and the lack of any accountability fuels stuff like this. I know there have always been bad cops, but what happens when bad cops start thinking they can get away with anything? Is this what happens when people worship "24's" Jack Bauer as if he was a real fucking person?
Update: I had in my head, but forgot to add, that as long as the CTA keeps increasing fares (I'm hearing rumors about another fare increase), and our shit economy forces more people out of work and sucks more out of their pockets; when it's really fucking cold in Chicago and people are desperate to get where they're going, we're going to see a lot more of this.
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