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Citizen Complaints and Problems Officers Examining Officer Behavior Chapter thirteen talks about the police being a public institution, that relies on a grant of legitimacy rooted in public trust and confidence. Complaints that become news events can wear away confidence among an even wider audience. This chapter provides the unique opportunity to combine citizen complaint data with actual observations. It examines the behavior of identified problem officers, as well as whose who are not labeled as such. Systematic research on police misconduct suggests most citizen complaints are generated by a handful of officers. In 1991, the Christopher Commission released its review of the Los Angeles Police Department in the aftermath of the Rodney King riots (Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, 1991). From its investigation, the Commission reported that a small group of officers were responsible for a disproportionate number of citizen complaints. Forty-four officers who had six or more allegations of excessive force or improper tactics were identified and labeled â€Å"problem officers.† It stands to reason that officers who repeatedly receive citizen complaints will be looked upon with suspicion, reflecting the saying- â€Å"where there’s smoke there’s often fire.† Perspectives on Citizen Complaints and Problem Officers As a result of the adversarial nature of the police-citizen relationship, situations arise in which avoidance of conflict is not an option. Not every citizen willingly accepts an officer’s definition of a situation: instead, he or she may choose to rebel against or challenge the authority of the police officer. Van Maanen (1978) noted this type of citizen, termed â€Å"asshole† by police, was likely to receive street justice in the form of â€Å"thumping.† Though Van Maanen’s fieldwork took place three decades ago, police continue to confront citizens they label as â€Å"assholes† who challenge their authority (Mastrofski, Reisig, and McCluuskey, 1991). More precisely, â€Å"thumping† an â€Å"asshole† has garnered an increasing amount of both departmental and public attention (Skolnick and Fyfe, 1993). At least three different perspectives on the meaning of citizen complaints are possible. First, it may be that citizen complaints tell us little to nothing because they are unreliable or invalid indicators of officer’s behavior. Two arguments can be made in this resp ect. A citizen complaint is just that- a â€Å"citizen† complaint. It is the citizen’s view or perception that the officer acted illegally or improperly, which is unlikely to be informed by rules and procedures by police departments establishing uniform operating standards.

The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst

The Scarlet Ibis is a short story by James Hurst weaving the tragic tale of Doodle, a disabled child and his brother, the narrator. Doodle's life has been a series of close calls; the only reason he is alive is the love and persistence – and occasional cruelty – of his brother. Brother's only motivation is to make Doodle like other kids in order to avoid the embarrassment of having a six-year-old brother who cannot even walk, amounting to what is, in essence, a battle with his own ego.As the story continues, Brother tries to fix the irreparable hole in his heart caused by his shame and selfishness toward Doodle. Brother is constantly reminding Doodle of his own debility, bringing to light Doodle's unwillingness to participate in his brother's cold-blooded attempts to point out Doodle's mortality. When Brother makes Doodle touch the casket, he knows what to expect from Doodle. â€Å"Doodle was paralyzed, so I put him on my shoulder and carried him down the ladder, and e ven when we were outside in the sunlight, he clung to me, crying, ‘Don't leave me.Don't leave me. ‘†(486). Doodle is utterly terrified of the casket, and his brother is aware of it. By making Doodle touch the casket, he is imprinting upon Doodle that he can never be normal, that he will always be teetering on the brink of life and death, never to be able to live up to his full potential. However cruel Brother's actions may be, he still takes an interest in Doodle, purely for his self-satisfaction. â€Å"When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn't walk, so I set out to teach him. (488) Brother teaches Doodle how to walk, but it is purely for his own conscience. Embarrassed by Doodle's condition, he tries to fix Doodle's many abnormalities, without considering Doodle's own views and feelings. The only thing that Brother wanted was a sibling with which he could play with, and the arrival of Doodle shattered his hopes . As a result, he makes Doodle pay for it on many occasions, the last of which took the life of his younger brother. â€Å"For a long, long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of the rain. (493). In the end, Brother finally realizes the effects his actions have on young Doodle. The emotional trauma of his brother abandoning him in the rain combined with his preexisting physical conditions came together in a perfect storm, bringing to light the final effects of Brother's ambition-driven actions, a simple childhood act of spite with devastating results. Throughout the story, Brother tries to show both sides of the double-edged sword that is pride. I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death. †(488) Brother's pride pushes him to give Doodle an existence away from his bed, and it is this obsession that leads to Doodle's tragic demise. Brother's pride did creat e a facsimile of real life for Doodle, but in the end, it crumbled, brought to its knees by pride and selfishness. Brother did love Doodle, but his ego overshadowed the fact the he was just trying to protect Doodle from a world that doesn't tolerate those that are different.Doodle dies sad and broken, abandoned by the one person he looked up to. Brother proves himself no better than Doodle, showing himself to be as morally destitute as Doodle is physically incapable. In the end, however, Brother realizes that Doodle could not have led the life he left without his big brother leading the way for him. Brother may have acted cruelly toward his brother, but in the end, he realizes that some things cannot be changed, no matter the amount of love and persistence.

Analysis Of The Book Allegory Of The Cave And The...

An old Zen Buddhism is saying said that † the classic form is emptiness, emptiness is form.† Which means that the outside world without cognizance is a perpetual changeful world, our cognizance is the core of the world, which is inflected the whole nature. Sometimes we are eclipsed by our cognizance that we cannot find out the truth. We used to admit the fact in our sight that process with our cognizance, which probably is the illusory world. In addition, the people in the allegory give up to walk out of the cave that still back to the dark. Besides in the movie, Neo found out that which the world, which he lived a long time was the in illusory world. Both of Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† and the Wachoskis’ The Matrix are involved in this principle; however, they are having some similarities and differences that between their changes and their worlds. In the allegory, the people who lived in the cave is restrained with the iron rope that face to the wall that what’s in sight are only the shadow throng on the dark cave, once when the people ran out of the cave, he found out the sunshine that he cannot open an eye and then he backed to the cave that the people used to live without light and full of darkness. Comparing with Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† and the Wachowskis’ The Matrix, they are having several similarities. Do you know what is the real world? Both of the characters are going out of the world, which they are living for a long time. When they go out of theirShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Book Allegory Of The Cave And The Wachoskis The Matrix921 Words   |  4 PagesIn addition, the people in the allegory give up to walked out of the cave that still back to the dark. Besides in the movie, Neo found out that which the world, which he lived a long time was the in illusory world. Both of Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† and the Wachoskis’ The Matrix are involved in this principles; however, they are having some similarities and differences that between their changes and their worlds. In the allegory, the people who lived in the cave is restrained with the iron rope