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The Louima Verdict The relationship between New York City and its Police Department might never be the same following the verdict reached last week in the Abner Louima torture case. That could prove to be a good thing, depending on the way both parties react to the jury's decision, and to all the evidence that emerged during the trial.The facts are painfully familiar. Abner Louima is the young Haitian immigrant who was the victim of a violent torture episode in a Brooklyn station house after his arrest in 1997 following a disturbance in a Brooklyn nightclub. Officer Justin Volpe, one of five policemen charged in connection with the incident, pleaded guilty in midtrial, admitting to having sodomized Louima with a stick because he thought Louima had struck him earlier. On June 8 a jury concluded that Officer Charles Schwarz was guilty of joining in the torture, but found three others--Sgt. Michael Bellomo, Officer Thomas Bruder and Officer Thomas Wiese--innocent of related charges. Schwarz, Bruder and Wiese still face charges that they conspired to obstruct justice. New Yorkers would be well-advised not to make too much, or too little, of this single case. To begin with, the incident was so brutal as to defy belief. From the start it was clear that something had gone terribly wrong in Brooklyn's 70th Precinct on the night of Louima's arrest. The usual innocent-until-proven-guilty support statements on behalf of those charged with police brutality had a hollow ring from the outset. The medical evidence made it plain that Louima had been subjected to unspeakable acts of depravity, in all likelihood while he was in police custody. All that remained was to determine who was responsible. Volpe's admission of guilt came after a few fellow officers offered damning testimony against him. Whether this truly represents, at long last, a break in the "blue wall of silence"--the misguided tradition in which one police officer will not inform on another, no matter how serious a complaint might be--remains to be seen. The nature of the case might have been a factor; so too might have been concern over charges about taking part in a cover-up. What is significant is that some did come forward. In the process, one important equation may have been changed forever. Still, all New Yorkers must remember that as horrible as it undeniably was, the Louima case represents one incident. Guilt has been established, and in one case admitted. But that guilt is limited to the actions of two officers on one particular night. In no sense does it establish, or even imply, that police brutality is an accepted standard of practice within the New York Police Department. In fact, police officers share the dismay of their fellow New Yorkers that one individual was brutalized the way Abner Louima was that night in 1997. The most important lesson to be learned from the Louima trial is that in any case, justice is best served when everyone concerned is treated with dignity and respect. |
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