Injustice in Blue

America’s domestic peacekeepers have been dragged through a tumultuous expose of severe criminal and civil misconduct, extending from Los Angeles to New York and points in between. In several cases, these otherwise forgotten revelations were precipitated by criminally accused law enforcement officers, zealously engaged in plea bargaining.

But there is clearly a major distinction between morally corrupt police whistle-blowers motivated by impending jail sentences, and those peacekeepers who have courageously chosen to express their indignation for police misconduct based solely on moral conviction.

One such noble peacekeeper is Officer Rene Rodriguez, a Latino peace officer from the Riverside Police Department. His disturbing account of racially biased statements made by police officers after the tragic police shooting of African American teenager Tyisha Miller has rightfully brought federal and state probes, not to mention widespread community outrage. In predictable fashion, city officials remained steadfast and in total denial that their police department was riddled with bigotry.

But the firing of four white officers who were involved in the shooting of Miller, and a white field sergeant accused of making racist remarks at the scene of the shooting, placed Rodriguez’s young career precariously within the cross hairs of the department’s rank and file, creating an extremely hostile work environment for him. The rank and file’s arrogant and recalcitrant behavior was poignantly illustrated when a majority of Riverside’s police officers shaved their heads to protest the firings. The net effect of this ill-conceived action caused great consternation among Riverside’s minority communities, faced with uniformed patrol officers exhibiting the skinhead look and angrily claiming a political witch hunt against them.

Ironically, unlike the four white officers who continued to receive full pay up until their firing, Rodriguez was denied medical leave with pay, in spite of medical evaluations supporting claims of severe stress brought on by the hostile work environment.

As expected, the attacks on Rodriguez’s veracity and good character continue to mount. Yet the local district attorney, police internal affairs office and U.S. attorney’s office have substantiated Rodriguez’s claims of racial bias, according to his lawyer. As a result of Rodriguez’s statements, the U.S. attorney’s office is conducting an ongoing criminal and civil investigation.

This is an all too familiar scenario for this writer, faced with similar circumstances more than 21 years ago. As a uniformed street cop in Santa Ana, I chose to speak out against racism within the police ranks. And like Rodriguez, peers labeled me a pariah and attempted to discredit me. But with little community support, those of us who spoke out were left to fend for ourselves and in the process, endure a 20-year legal fight in federal court, that to this day, has yet to be adjudicated. The lawsuit is based on retaliation and infringement of 1st Amendment rights when Latino officers formed a chapter of the Latino Peace Officers Assn. and spoke out against racial bias within the Santa Ana Police Department. Today, we are beginning to see a groundswell of community activism, boldly challenging the status quo and in doing so, demanding justice from a profession that invariably questions the loyalty, veracity and moral character of those who dare to speak out against police abuse.

I make an open call to all of America’s dedicated peacekeepers, to follow Officer Rene Rodriguez’s example of moral conviction: Speak out against injustice and encourage one another to stand up to those who bring dishonor to America’s peacekeepers.