Sidney Sweeting, DDS
I have been around long enough to realize that not all members of our Police Force can be considered paragons of virtue but even I was shocked last Friday by an incident involving three members of our police force.
Two young boys were travelling by car in Elizabeth estates when they were pulled over by a police car containing three officers. One of the officers got the names of the two young boys, entered them in his computer and informed one of them that the records showed that he had a traffic violation. The young boy admitted that he did and the fine had been paid. They then informed the two boys that they found a paper clip outside the car so "they must have been smoking marijuana."
They then informed the two boys that they could lock them up for the weekend but if they gave each officer $100 they would let them go. One of the boys had just collected his asue and between them they had $269 so the police settled for that.
I spoke with one of the young boys Saturday morning and he informed me that he had filed a complaint with the corruption unit Friday afternoon and I followed up on it this morning. I also learned since Saturday that the incident is not an uncommon one.
We have to wonder where they find these officers. Do they crawl out of a hole and someone finds them and puts a police uniform on them? Harsh description you might say. Churchill had a name for such despicable persons - guttersnipes.
So, the next time you hear that a crime has been committed and someone asks where the police are, you can tell them - they are somewhere frightening innocent people into giving them a bribe.
