“ A Message from the E d ito r”
BY DR. SAMUEL H. SUTHERLAND / PRESIDENT, BIOLA SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES, INC.
What are we coming to ? T he January 1970 issue o f Fi-Po News (Fire and Police Research Association o f Los Angeles) reveals a most revo lting situa tion which exists in Southern C a lifornia . P resumably it is ta k in g place in o the r urban areas o f o u r coun try as well. An a rtic le in th is p u b li cation describes a gala event which too k place in the home o f moving p ic tu re and TV star, Dean M artin . Over 3 0 0 guests gathered fo r th is occasion; th e entrance fee was a donation o f $ 1 ,0 0 0 .0 0 per couple. In th is way over $ 2 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0 was raised. For what purpose? Charity, medical research, deprived ch ild ren , s u ffe rin g humanity? C e rta in ly not! The purpose o f the ga the rin g was to assist in fu n d in g “ the costs o f the American C ivil L iberties Union Police Practice Complain t Cen te rs " ! These centers have been created w ith th e ir personnel acting in th e role o f “ w a tchdog” over ou r police! A selected lis t o f ACLU a tto rne ys are constan tly available to ca rry on legal ba ttles aga inst the o ffice rs o f the law in cases o f alleged “ police b ru ta lity " o r “ police harassm ent.” The a rtic le concludes w ith th is in cred ib le statement: “ The cop on the beat m ust be ever m ind fu l o f th e well-organized and highly-financed endeavors o f those like the ACLU who are standing by, ready to challenge his every action as he a ttem p ts to perform his du tie s o f en fo rc ing th e law. Yes, th a t cop on the beat is also fu lly aware th a t w h ile the re are centers set up to so lic it anti-police in fo rm a tion , he w ill not fin d any coun te rpa rt centers handing him commendations o r supp o rtin g him in his a c tio n s .” The tra ve s ty o f th e whole business is th a t these ACLU atto rneys are looked upon w ith fa vo r by many judges in ou r land. O f course, th e news media are on ly too happy to get te s tim on y from these a tto rneys so they can give them extended coverage in newspapers, radio, and television. The police ra re ly have o p p o rtu n ity to present th e ir side. W ith th is ho rrib le fa c t in m ind one wonders why any young man would be in terested in becom ing a lawman, a peace o ffice r, in th is coun try. O ur hats are o ff to those courageous ones who, know ing these hazards, jo in us to “ PROTECT AND SERVE” * us all!
To re tu rn to the gala at the M a rtin home: Ano the r amazing fa c t was th e lis t o f those in attendance. Heading the lis t a t th is ACLU fund -ra is ing pa rty was U.S. Senator Alan Cranston (D -Californ ia). An o the r prom inen t po litica l fig u re was Councilman Thomas Bradley, de feated cand ida te in the recent Los Angeles m ayoralty election. In view o f his supp o rt o f th is kind o f th ing , one shudders to th in k how close he came to being elected! Why th e J u n io r Senator from Ca li fo rn ia would pay $ 1 ,0 0 0 .0 0 in to such a slush fund fo r the express purpose o f d is c re d itin g the police who are hired to p ro tect not only the state, city, and towns b u t also his home, his person, his loved ones is too d iffic u lt to understand. What would he have to say if some n ig h t his home was broken in to and his fam ily molested, while the police stood id ly by fo r fea r o f being accused o f “ police b ru ta lity " *T h e slogan which appears on all police cars.
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