Selling Out In Court: How Settlements Protect Police Abusers (2020)

Why Lawsuits Don’t Deter Police Brutality

Under Article lll of the U.S. Constitution, the role of the courts is to hear and decide cases and controversies to remedy, punish and deter violations of the laws.

Many high profile cases of police abuse and murder end up in the courts as civil lawsuits, brought on behalf of the victims or slain victim’s loved ones. This usually follows the state’s refusal to criminally prosecute the pigs; which is one level of protection afforded abusive pigs.

If so many civil cases are brought against police violence, why doesn’t the threat of litigation deter the pigs from committing abuses?

A major reason is the judicial system works to protect the pigs from any accountability. The principal mechanism used to do this is the settlement process.

LAWYERS (ESPECIALLY CIVIL RIGHTS LAWYERS) ARE IN ON THE GAME

A number of lawyers actively pursue police violence cases, and represent themselves as civil rights attorneys, like millionare lawyer Benjamin Crump. What is disgusting about these opportunistic ambulance chasers who profit off of the people’s loss and misery, is they are portrayed as community heroes and champions of victims of police brutality. When in reality, they make careers of and achieve considerable wealth and fame by working with and within the system to protect abusive pigs and insulate them from any accountability, which is what the settlement process does.

Crump, for example, represented or was involved in such high profile cases of Blacks murdered by the pigs and pig wanna-bes as Mike Brown, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Alesia Thomas, and now George Floyd. He is known for pursuing cases that gain high media attention, through which he achieved and maintains prominence.

And while he has represented over 250 cases, he settled almost every one.

Indeed he approaches these cases with the INTENT of settling.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN CASES ARE SETTLED

When a case is settled, the facts that come out are kept private, the victim or their loved ones typically must agree to not publicize that information, the abusive pig and the entity s/he works for is exonerated, and makes no admission of wrongdoing. In many cases the abusive pig is promoted and often continues on a career of abuse. An example being Daniel Pantaleo, the cop who killed Eric Garner. Several prior lawsuits were brought against this pig’s abuses before he killed Garner. All were dismissed or settled by the state. As a result he went on to murder Garner.

The abusive pig also incurs no loss, as the settlement is paid by the government out of taxpayer money. All of which ENCOURAGES and EMBOLDENS the culture of police brutality, where the message is conveyed to all other cops that they can brutalize and murder the people with impunity, and suffer nothing for it. In fact they may gain a celebrity status within their own circles as an embattled badass cop.

But if the cases were actually taken to trial before a jury, there would be a public record of the evidence exposing the abuse and a legal finding if the case is won of wrongdoing by the involved pig(s) and institutions, which would compel action against the pig and expose internal corruption. There is the likelihood of a much higher monetary recovery for the victim or loved ones than the state is willing to offer to settle.

IS SETTLING SELLING OUT?

So, in essence, the victim or their surviving loved ones are induced to accept a government payoff to exonerate the pig(s) and responsible institution that brutalized them or murdered their loved one from any wrongdoing, to conceal evidence that proves the criminal abuses, to promote/uphold this police abuse culture by endorsing a system that protects abusive and murderous pigs from accountability, and basically trade their suffering or their loved one’s life for a paycheck.

This is what the courts, politicians, and worst still, sellout so-called civil rights attorneys like Benjamin Crump call “justice.” In fact, to enhance the chances of the state entering into a settlement, lawyers like Crump will advise his clients to not associate with organizations and activists that may fight for greater gains than a settlement and expose this corrupt racist capitalist system for what it is. A fundamentally predatory system that preys on Black and Brown people, the poor and working class people to the benefit of the rich and powerful.

Fortunately there are many families within the Stolen Lives movement, which is supported by the New Afrikan Black Panther Party and United Panther Movement, that recognize this game for what it is and are demanding true justice-the overthrow of this wretched capitalist imperialist-system so that no more innocent lives are brutalized and stolen by its armed protectors.

Dare to Struggle Dare to Win!
All Power to the People!